When the Hero Cries
by Tbot2010
Summary: When Link goes to fight Gannondorf he nearly has him but to his surprise Gannondorf opens up a portal. Link follows him in and lands in Hinamizawa. There he befriends Rika and her friends. Things really pick up when Link returns to the land of Hyrule.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fan-fiction in both the Legend of Zelda and Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni series. This is a fan-fiction and I do not own the rights to either The Legend of Zelda or Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni. So please read, review and enjoy the story.

**Chapter 1**

The sky darkened as Link rode down the dirt path towards Hyrule. Lightning cracked and thunder filled the sky as Link felt raindrops begin to fall from the sky. He pulled Epona to a stop before the gates that would lead him into Hyrule. He stepped down off of Epona and then proceeded to cross the bridge which was now cracked in half with the little river flowing in between the two pieces of the broken bridge. As he began to cross the rain started turning into a downpour that drenched everything. Link walked down the main street of Hyrule before entering into the marketplace. Link stopped and looked at the houses. The color of the houses was rather dark and no light could be seen in any of the buildings. The only sound that Link heard was the thunder from the storm as everything seemed to stand still in the road. He continued forward and found himself in the market place before the castle. Looking around he saw that there were figures standing around. Their silhouettes motionless in the darkness and obscured by the rain and then a flash of lightning lit up the sky, and Link could see that he was looking at members of the undead. Link reached into his tunic and pulled out the Ocarina of Time and put it to his lips as he took a breath and began to play the song that he learned in the tomb that belonged to the Royal Family. The song had the usual effect that it did on these members of the undead, but it seemed to do nothing for the weather as if this was to be a place of permanent darkness. The undead creatures froze in place from the magic that the song seemed to provide. Link continued towards the castle his path lit by the occasional flashes of lightning. It was not long before Link stood speechless as his eyes widened at what he saw. Hyrule Castle had changed. Instead of the beautiful white castle that stood with gardens Link now saw a castle that was pitch black seemingly made out of iron. Link started to walk towards the castle and stopped when he felt the tip of his foot almost sink and then he looked down and noticed that the castle was floating on a space of land that was over a pool of molten rock. The heat was so intense that Link could feel it from where he stood. He stood at the ruins of the steps that would have led to the Hyrule Castle thinking how he would get there until he heard a familiar voice.

"Link," the deep voice of Raru the sage of light spoke out, "We will help you gain access to the castle."

After this Link could feel the medallions that he held within his tunic begin to resonate and soon they were glowing. Then suddenly six lights each the color of the medallions shot out of his tunic. They hovered in front of Link and then there was a bright flash that made Link cover his eyes with his hands and when he brought them down he stared at a bridge formed by the sages. The walkway in the middle was clear with the colors of each of the medallions on the sides of the bridge. Link felt a little nervous as he stepped onto the bridge. Despite this Link continued forward after he had reached the end of the bridge he now stood in front of the open doorway in to the castle. He walked into a room that contained a stone floor except for the velvet carpet that led down a set of stairs. Torches on the walls illuminated the room and Link could see that at the end of the stairs were two of the statues that he had encountered before with the top part that had an eye that would shoot a beam at him if he did not destroy it first. Link reached into his pocket and pulled out one of his little bombs and waiting for the right time he lit it and tossed it at the statue when the eye was facing him. It exploded and the top portion of the statue went into the air and came down crashing into several pieces. He then did the same thing with the other and had the same successful result. He approached the door that stood in between the two statues. It slid up and Link entered into a huge room. It was really large and in the center stood what looked like a tower of some sort. The entrance was at the end of a bridge. The entrance held the face of a monster with its mouth open. There was some kind of force field around it. Link approached it and drew the Master Sword from the scabbard on his back and tapped the field with it and the force field disappeared. Link walked into the next room not knowing what to expect next. He found himself standing at the bottom of a spiral staircase that was covered with another red carpet. The only illumination was small torches on the wall that still left plenty of darkness. Link continued up the stairs with his sword in hand. He continued up until he came to a door that opened up into an empty room. He walked forward into the middle of the room and stood looking around. There seemed to be other entrances into the room but they were blocked off with cold iron bars. Link then noticed that he was covered with a shadow, and spun around to see what was behind him and saw nothing. Link could hear something above him and dove out of the way as the monster that looked like a hand fell onto the floor. Link quickly swung the Master Sword cutting the thing in half causing some blood to spray. He then moved through the door that stood at the other end of the room. He then moved up another flight of stairs and through a door. This room contained some portions of the floor elevated with countless clay pots on them, and in the middle of the room a giant square structure towered in the center and it looked like Link could climb it, but when he looked up he could see that it elevated to the next floor where he could hear organ music playing. He continued through a door that was on the wall opposite the one that he had entered and as he ascended the stairs the music became louder and when he reached the top of the stairs and stood in front of the door the music was the loudest it had been indicating that the source was on the other side. Link stepped forward and the door opened. Link now stood in a room with a figure with a red cape sitting at the organ playing with the princess in a crystal created from magic. Then the organ playing stopped.

"My Tri-Force of Power is resonating," the man began, "Then that means that we are all here."

Link knew this voice and was not surprised when the organ disappeared and Gannondorf turned to face Link. He wore black armor that was draped in his red cape. He stood staring at Link with cold eyes that only showed the desire for power.

"This power is too much for you," Gannondorf stated as he raised his hand showing the resonating Tri-Force on the back of his hand, "I demand that give it to me."

With this a wave of dark energy flowed over Link preventing him from going anywhere. Link used his strength to move the Master Sword into a horizontal position which seemed to block the wave as Link swung the sword upwards causing the wave to shoot towards the ceiling making a loud noise on impact sending some dust and pieces of stone falling to the floor.

"Good," Gannondorf laughed as he launched himself into the air and remained floating, "But I have more power. Now Princess, you will witness the downfall of your so-called Hero of Time!"

He then sent the crystal that contained Zelda into the top of a corner in the room. With this he raised his hand and a crackling sound filled the air as it drew in dark energy. Soon an orb of energy was formed and he hurled it at Link. Link dove out of the way as the orb crashed into the floor dispersing the energy causing the portion of the floor to drop out. Gannondorf raised his hand again drawing in energy and hurled another ball of dark energy at Link. Link was ready for it this time and swung at it with the Master Sword causing it to fly off of his sword and crashing into the wall. Link then got an idea. The next ball that was sent flying his way he swung the Master Sword horizontally sending the ball right back at Gannondorf. Link could see Gannondorf's eyes widen in surprise as the ball hit him square in the chest causing him to fall to the ground.

"Enough of that," Gannondorf grunted with frustration, "Now we will truly see who is more powerful."

With that Gannondorf drew out a sword and charged Link swinging it down on him vertically. Link swung his sword into a horizontal position blocking the attempted blow. Then Link came in to attack and swung his sword diagonally down at Gannondorf who blocked it and shoved Link backwards and swung the sword horizontally. Link ducked out of the way and attempted a jab at Gannondorf who blocked it. Gannondorf then thrust his sword at Link who deflected it downwards. Link saw Gannondorf smile as he saw Gannondorf's sword underneath his. Gannondorf let out a grunt as he swung his sword upward sending Link flying over and behind him. Link landed hard on the floor.

"Link look out," Zelda yelled.

Link rolled out of the way as Gannondorf attempted a killing blow, but thanks to the princess's warning Link was able to get out of the way. Then Link saw Gannondorf getting ready to attempt it again. This time Link was ready and blocked it and pushed the tip of the sword to the ground. Then Gannondorf swung sending Link rolling away. Link got up and turned around and swung his sword into a horizontal position blocking Gannondorf's sword. Link pushed him back and they swung at each other again. This time when their swords locked Gannondorf delivered a powerful kick to Link's ribs sending him reeling back. Gannondorf came at him again and swung at Link. Link still recovering from the kick put up his arm with the Hylian Shield to take the blow from Gannondorf's sword. The force of the blow almost caused Link to lose his footing completely and then Link saw an opportunity. He used all the strength in his arm that held the shield to push away Gannondorf's sword and then thrust the Master Sword into Gannondorf's chest. Gannondorf let out a yell of pain. Link could see the blood dripping down the blade of the Master Sword onto the handle and then onto the gauntlets that he was wearing on his hand. Then came the crackling sound of the energy again before he knew it another orb was in Gannondorf's free hand. Link pulled the Master Sword out of Gannondorf to block the attack, but he was not fast enough as Gannondorf threw the orb at him the moment that Link took the Master Sword out of him. The orb hit Link with incredible force sending him flying backward off of his feet. Gannondorf took a few steps back due to his injury clutching his chest with his free hand.

"This is not over yet," he stated.

Gannondorf took another step backward towards the center of the room and fell to one knee from the pain. Link could hear Gannondorf mumbling something that he could not quite make out. Link then focused his attention to the Princess as he noticed that the crystal she was in was slowly lowering. Link grabbed the Master Sword and ran over to her. He stopped before the crystal and tapped it with the end of the Master Sword. The crystal disappeared the second the Blade of Evil's Bane touched it.

"Are you alright Link," she asked.

"Yeah," Link replied.

They then both looked at Gannondorf who was still mumbling. Link started to walk toward him tightly clutching the hilt of the Master Sword ready to deliver the finishing blow. Suddenly Gannondorf swung his head up in laughter. Link then noticed a circle starting to form on the ground in front of Gannondorf. It started to fill with a bright blue light. Soon there was a bright flash and the entire circle was now filled with light and dark blue rifts that were circling around inside it.

"If you really want to stop me," Gannondorf began, "Then you will have to catch me."

After that Gannondorf went forward into the blue circle and disappeared. Link took a step forward when he felt the Princess's hand grab his arm. Link turned and saw that there was clear worry on her face. Link put away the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. He turned and gave her a smile and then gently pushed her hand off of his arm and continued forward stepping into the blue circle. There was a flash and Link could feel himself being carried to wherever this thing was going to take him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Link felt himself being carried through the vortex at an incredible speed. The colors were almost nauseating causing Link to close his eyes several times. Link lifted his head and covered his eyes as he could see that there was a bright light at the end of the vortex, and he was rapidly approaching. _Is that the end of it, _Link wondered to himself as the bright white light grew closer and closer. Before he knew it he had reached the light which was so bright that Link had to cover his eyes from the brightness. When Link opened them he noticed that he was in the air and was rapidly falling. He looked below him and saw a bunch of trees. He let out a little yell as he was very high up in the air. Then he noticed that he was right above a body of water. The water was murky and Link couldn't really tell the depth of the body of water, but it looked rather dirty. Before he knew it he land face first in the water which was actually rater deep. Link hit the water so suddenly that he did not have the time to close his mouth. He could feel the foul tasting water fill his mouth which he closed immediately but that did not stop some of it from going down his throat causing him to accidentally swallow it. He swam up to the surface as fast as he could. When he reached the surface he swam over to a place where he could get out of the water. Once he got out of the water he pulled himself out of the water and was soaking wet. He began coughing immediately from the taste of the water that he had managed to accidentally swallow. After a little bit he sat down to let himself dry for a little while and to catch his breath from what had just happened. _Where am I, _Link thought to himself. Looking around at all the trees and plants that lay on the ground Link could not recognize anything that he saw. When he had finally dried off Link continued looking around and saw that he had landed in a swamp. He turned looking for some sign of a road or path that he could follow. He walked through the trees and could see something and so he quickened his pace. He came to something that he had never seen before. In front of him was a rather wide space that was black and had yellow lines and dashes on it. _What is this, _Link thought. He looked down one end and then looked down the other and saw that it seemingly did not stop. _Maybe this is a road,_ Link thought, _I'll follow it and see where it takes me._ Link started to walk along the side of the road. He had been walking for a while when he saw a rock path. Link followed it and the path started getting a little narrower and Link started to watch his step a little more closely. When he reached the end of the path he looked around and stood staring into a huge mess. There were mountains upon mountains of things that looked like they had aged a great deal and were falling apart. _Maybe there is something here that I can find that will tell me where I am, _Link thought. He took careful steps down into the mounds of countless items. Looking around he saw that many of the things there were broken and would not work, but he decided to continue looking around for any indication of where he might be. He stopped to wipe some sweat from his forehead when he suddenly heard a noise. He started to creep forward as slowly and as quietly as he could. He found himself climbing over some things and once he got high enough he could see a figure. He started to could see that it was a girl from her clothing. He leaned in to try and get a closer look but suddenly the thing that he was standing on gave way and Link started to tumble downward. He hit his head on something and closed his eyes as he put his hand to his head. When he opened his eyes the girl was standing in front of him. She had her hand on her chin and her eyes started darting over Link, and he could see that her eyes seemed to be filled with worry and surprise. He was just about to ask her where he was but that is when he saw what the girl was holding. In her hand there was a blade of some sort. Link's eyes widened as he started to reach for the Master Sword.

"Are you alright," the girl asked in a worried voice.

Link got to his feet and drew the Master Sword. The girl's eyes widened when he drew the blade. He slowly started backing away from the girl. _I shouldn't get into a fight, _Link thought, _if I was to get hurt I do not even know where to go to get some kind of help. _Once Link was at what he thought was a safe distance he turned and ran in the direction of the rock path that had led him there. He put the sword back into its scabbard and started running along the path as fast as he could. Once he got to what he thought was a safe distance he stopped to catch his breath and saw that he was once again standing by this large black path that was separated with the yellow lines and dashes. He then heard a sound that he had not heard when he was by this thing before. He looked and saw this odd shaped thing coming towards him. It was an odd shape that had wheels and there was glass so Link could see inside it. At the front there were to round things that were giving off lights that were rather bright. Then there came this loud noise that seemed to be coming from the thing that was coming towards him. Link noticed that it was coming at him with some speed and Link backed off as the thing sped past him. _What was that, _Link wondered as he stared after it. He continued to walk alongside the road for a while. He stopped when he saw a sign with an arrow.

"Okinomiya," Link read aloud just so something would break the silence that he was standing in, "Maybe there is where I will be able to find out more about where I am."

Linked noticed that the sun was starting to set, so he quickened his pace and before long Link could see a bunch of houses, but they looked really strange. They were larger than any houses Link had ever seen, and they were square all the way up with no tops that were triangular like the ones that he had seen in Hyrule and other places. He also noticed that these buildings had quite a few windows which while in Hyrule the houses had windows but not like this many of these buildings had a lot more windows than any that Link had seen before. He continued down into the place and could see where the people were walking separated from where the strange objects like the one that he had encountered before were. He quickly found a spot where the people were walking and got over onto it. He started walking down looking for someplace that would be able to help him find out where he was. It was then that he noticed some of the doors on the buildings were seemingly made of glass. He noticed the people were wearing clothes that Link had never seen. Some of the women were wearing skirts, but other than that Link was unfamiliar with the clothing that these people were wearing. He noticed that he must look very strange to them because as he walked he notice that they were giving him looks that made him wonder if they thought he was crazy or something. He then stopped in front of a building that from the looks of it sold things. He then heard a voice of someone.

"We apologized," the voice stated, "Why can't you leave us be."

"Your apology is not going to do shit for the scratched paint job of my motorcycle," a voice shot back.

Link hurried in the direction in which the voices came from. When he got there he stood in the opening of an alleyway. Standing there were two little girls surrounded by three men that were the ones that seemed to be bullying them. Link knew that he had to stop this and began to walk into the alley.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Rika stood there with Satoko corned by three bikers who were angry at what they had done by pure accident. It started off as a normal day the two got ready for school and went to class where they had a fun time in the club after class and as they headed home Satoko remembered that they needed to do some grocery shopping and thought that a stop in Okinomiya would be a good idea. So the two of them went to the grocery store to buy the things that they needed, and when they got out they set the bags down because they were a little heavy and they wanted to get a better grip on them. When Satoko picked her bag back up she lost her balance and fell forward a little, but it was just enough to hit the motorcycles and tip one over which in turn caused a domino effect resulting in the other two motorcycles falling over. Not long after that the owners of the motorcycles came out and saw what had happened to their motorcycles and they were furious. They noticed Rika and Satoko right away and immediately put the pieces together and pushed the two into the alleyway by the store and started demanding that they pay for the damage done to their bikes. This is how Rika found herself in this situation. _What am I going to do, _Rika thought to herself.

"We don't care if your kids," one of the bikers stated, "You damaged our rides and now you have to pay."

"I already told you that my friend and I are very sorry for having damaged your motorcycles," Rika replied.

"Your apologies aren't going to fix the damage that you did you little brat," another one of the bikers stated.

"You two are going to have to pay for this if you do not want to get hurt," the third biker stated.

"Oh really what could you do," Satoko challenged.

"Quiet Satoko," Rika told her friend, "There is no need to provoke them any further."

Suddenly they heard a voice coming from the entrance to the alley.

"What are you doing to those girls," the figure demanded, "Stop it now."

They all looked in the direction of the voice and could see a figure that was silhouetted so they could not see his face.

"Who do you think you are," one of the bikers asked, "Come forward so we can see you."

The figure stepped through into the alley and they all got a good look at him. He had blue eyes and blonde hair. He was wearing unusual clothing. He had on a green tunic and a green hat that seemed like a cone of some sort that drooped in the back. On his hands he wore gloves that seemed to have gold on them. He wore what looked like stockings that seemed like they completely covered both of his legs. He wore brown boots on his feet. On his back they could see a sword and shield strung across his back. He wore a belt with a few patches. The bottom part of the tunic was short and the same shade of green that the top half was. The biker's attention soon shifted to this stranger that had come in on their business. They circled around him one in front and one in back while one stood on the side in front of a brick wall of a building.

"Well look at this freak," one of the bikers stated as he eyed up the stranger.

"What are you doing here," another one of the bikers asked.

"I am here to stop what you are doing to those two girls," the stranger replied, "They apologized for what they did so you should just let them go instead of bullying them."

"They scratched the paint job on my bike," the third biker stated, "Their apologies are not going to fix crap."

Rika looked on with Satoko as this man stood up to these three bikers not knowing what to do since she didn't know what these men were going to do.

"I don't see how bullying these two girls will get payment for what happened to your bikes," the stranger stated.

"What are you some kind of dumbass," one of the bikers replied.

"All you are some kind of cosplay freak who probably doesn't have a life," another one of the bikers stated.

"If you guys have nothing better to do than bully little girls then I would say that the ones that have no lives are you guys," the stranger calmly replied.

"You better watch your mouth you bastard," the third replied as he stepped forward, "Or else you can consider yourself a dead man."

The three then started to close their circle on the stranger. Rika saw the stranger's eyes looking around at the three.

"If that is how you want to do it," the stranger replied, "Then that is how you will get it."

Then suddenly he brought his elbow back and elbowed the biker behind him in the stomach causing him to grab it his stomach in pain. Then the stranger launched the same arm forward punching the biker that was standing in front of him. The biker standing by the stranger's side put a hand on the stranger's should which he grabbed and pulled the biker over his shoulder and he landed with a hard _Thud_ on the ground. The biker that the stranger had elbowed was now coming at him and then the stranger surprisingly jumped at the wall and pushed his feet off of it and swung around delivering a kick to the biker that was coming at him. Rika then saw the stranger head in their direction. When he got to them he swiftly turned around and pulled out the sword and shield that he was wearing on his back. _Who is this guy_, Rika thought to herself.

"Oh look he pulled out a sword," one of the bikers stated as he started to get up, "I bet it is made out of plastic."

"Yeah you're probably right," the biker that got punched started, "It won't be able to stand up to this."

After saying this the biker pulled out a pistol and took a few steps forward. The stranger standing in front of them brought his shield to the front and held the sword back in a defensive stance.

"Can you believe this dumbass," the biker with the gun started, "He thinks that he can beat a gun with his stupid sword."

Rika and Satoko stood there in silence not knowing what to do when Rika suddenly heard a noise. It sounded like some kind of humming and she turned to look at where it was coming from and she was surprised to find out that it was coming from the sword which was now starting to glow a light blue.

"Ooh look it has got fiber optics," one of the bikers joked.

"I hope you are ready to die," the biker stated as he started to pull the trigger.

The stranger then swung the sword which was now an orange color and was still humming. Satoko and Rika both held each other and closed their eyes in fear awaiting the shot. Instead they heard an unusual sound, but no gunshot. They slowly opened their eyes and saw that the gun that the biker was holding was now in two pieces as the stranger held the sword in the air. Rika noticed that there seemed to be what looked like a burn mark on the brick wall that wasn't there before and it lined up with the position of the sword that the stranger was holding. The three men had looks of pure terror on their faces as they slowly backed away and then turned and ran for their bikes and got onto them and rode off. The stranger then put the sword and shield away and turned to look at both Rika and Satoko.

"Are you alright," he asked.

"Yes," Rika replied, "Who are you?"

"My name is Link."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Link stood there in front of the two girls wondering what to do next. _If this place has people like those three wandering about and causing trouble then it would not be a good idea to just let these two go off by themselves especially if those three guys decided to come back, _Link thought.

"Look," Link began, "I think that you two should not go home alone after you ran into trouble with those three guys. I can escort you to your house."

"That would be awfully nice of you," the girl with the blue hair replied, "Thank you very much Link."

"You're welcome uhh," Link stumbled realizing that he did not know the name of the two girls that he had just saved.

"Oh sorry," the blue haired girl apologized, "I am Rika Furude and this girl with the blonde hair is Satoko Hojo."

"That was pretty cool what you did back there Link," Satoko stated.

"Thanks," Link replied.

The two walked out of the alley and Link noticed that Satoko was trying to pick up some bags.

"What is in those," Link asked.

"This is the food that we bought because back home we were running out," Satoko replied.

"Let me help," Link replied.

Link took a couple of steps forward and saw where there were handles in the bags and put his hands through and picked up all the bags and held them in both hands. To his surprise these bags had quite a bit of weight to them. _What kind of food is in these bags to make them so heavy, _Link thought. He let the two lead the way since he did not know where Rika and Satoko lived. It was a bit of a walk and Link was surprised that these two girls were able to walk all this way. As they walked Link noticed that it was getting closer and closer to dark. Soon though he was standing in front of a house that had two floors. He stopped as Rika went up to the door and pulled out a key and unlocked the door and motioned for them to go in. Link walked in and put the bags down and rubbed his shoulders happy to have finally been able to set those heavy bags down.

"Thanks a lot," Rika stated.

"No problem," Link replied.

"Are you hungry," Rika asked.

Link hadn't notice before but now that he really thought about it he could hear a growling in his stomach and couldn't help but nod his head.

"You can eat here," Rika told him, "As long as Satoko doesn't mind."

"I don't mind," Satoko replied.

"Good," Rika began, "Satoko can you come into the kitchen and help me with the cooking?"

"Yeah no problem," Satoko answered.

Link stood there in surprise. _First these girls take that long walk to that place called Okinomiya by themselves and then they do the cooking by themselves, _Link thought _where in the name of Din are there parents._ While Link was thinking about this he was looking around the house and decided that he should probably take off the sword and shield. After he did that he set them up against the wall and looking around he noticed that the house was a very simple one with a wood floor and some furniture like chairs and stands made of wood. Link was looking around so much that he didn't even hear Rika calling him.

"Link," she called, "The food is ready."

"Oh I'm coming," Link replied as he walked into the kitchen.

When he walked into the kitchen he saw the table where Rika and Satoko were already sitting and noticed that there were several cabinets and some other things that he had not seen before. He walked up to the table and pulled a chair away from the table and sat down. He was surprised at how good the dish in front of him looked.

"Let's eat," Satoko stated as she took a bite.

Link took a taste of the food and was surprised at how delicious it tasted. He soon found himself finishing what was on his plate and asking for seconds. _This food is incredibly good, _Link thought, _I have never had anything like it._ When he got his plate back Rika started to talk.

"Link," she started, "Where are you from?"

"I am from the kingdom of Hyrule," Link answered, "I know it probably sounds crazy to you but I was fighting someone when suddenly he opened up this rift and I followed him through it and it led me here."

"Who were you fighting," Rika asked.

"I was fighting a man named Gannondorfwho was after the Triforce," Link replied, "He is a very evil man with tremendous power."

"What is this Triforce that you mentioned," Rika asked.

"Well," Link began, "The world that I came from was created by three goddesses and they were named: Din, Nayru, and Farore. When they completed the creation of my world they joined together and formed three sacred golden triangles that became known as the Triforce which held three parts: power, wisdom, and courage. Gannondorf holds the Triforce of Power, the Princess of Hyrule holds the Triforce of Wisdom, and I hold the Triforce of Courage."

"You mean that you serve a princess," Satoko stated in surprise.

"Yes," Link replied, "Her name is Zelda and I was fighting Gannondorf so that I could defeat him and rescue her and bring peace to Hyrule."

"That is quite the story," Rika replied.

"I can prove to you that it is true," Link stated.

Link then held up his hand and showed the two the back of his hand as the Triforce of Courage resonated and the eyes of the two girls widened as it glowed. Link put his hand down and continued.

"The sword that you saw me draw is the Master Sword which otherwise is known as the Blade of Evil's Bane," Link continued, "Now may I ask you two a question?"

"Go ahead," Rika replied.

"While taking the walk back here I could not help but notices how long it was and then when you two started to cook," Link began, "I was wondering where are your parents?"

Link immediately regretted asking this question because as soon as he had finished asking this question he noticed that Satoko' s eyes went right to the floor and her face lost all expression.

"We don't have any," Rika answered.

"I am terribly sorry," Link apologized, "In that case as long as I am here would it be okay if I stayed here?"

"You can stay," Rika answered.

"Thank you."

Link then got up and excused himself from the table left and walked into the living room of the house and took a seat. After a little while Rika came into the room.

"Satoko and I are going to be going to sleep," Rika told him.

"Okay," Link replied.

"When you get tired," Rika began, "There is an extra room upstairs it is at the end of the hallway on the left."

"Okay thanks," Link responded.

Rika walked upstairs and got herself ready for bed. After saying goodnight to Satoko she went into her room and laid down in her futon to go to sleep but it did not come easily. When she finally fell asleep it was rather fitful. Rika tossed and turned in her futon. Finally, not being able to sleep she decided to get up and have a glass of water. On her way into the kitchen she could see that there was someone sitting outside. She walked over to see what was going on and when she opened the door she was surprised to see that Link was there sitting not seeming to do anything in particular. The moon cast a light onto his face and she could see his eyes as blue and deep as the ocean not seeming to look at anything, and his face straight as if in deep thought.

"Link," Rika silently said so as not to wake up Satoko back in the house.

"What," Link turned a little surprised at the sight of Rika standing in the doorway, "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I couldn't sleep so I got up to get a glass of water and I saw that there was someone standing outside and wondered what was going on and when I opened the door I saw you standing here," Rika replied, "What are you doing?"

"I was just thinking about things in Hyrule," Link replied.

"That's the place that you talked about at dinner," Rika recalled.

"Yeah," Link started, "I was wondering how it was getting along without me there."

"Do you have family there," Rika asked, "Is that why you are so worried about it?"

"I don't have a family," Link began, "No brothers or sisters and my mother fled Hyrule during a war when I was a baby and she got hurt really bad and brought me to a place where I could be safe, she died shortly after that, and as for my father I never knew him either."

"I'm sorry," Rika apologized as she saw the slight pang of pain in Links eyes as he recounted his past of not having a family.

"Don't worry about it," Link replied, "It is only natural that you ask something about that since I did not tell you about it before."

Suddenly there was a small noise at the door causing the two to turn their heads and to both of their surprise there stood Satoko. The sight worried Rika because she had never seen Satoko like this. She stood there her eyes open but they seemed to be looking at nothing at all and they looked rather empty. It was almost like she was in some kind of trance. She slowly started to walk towards Link. She walked all the way over to Link and grabbed onto his tunic and looked up at him.

"Nii-nii," she said in a soft sad voice.

Rika seeing the clear confusion and worry in Link's face got up and gently redirected Satoko back into the house and very carefully laid her back into her futon. _That's strange, _Rika thought, _Satoko has never slept walked before, so why would she start now._ She headed back out to see Link who still seemed rather confused at what had just happened.

"Is she okay," Link asked his face full of concern.

"Yeah," Rika replied, "She was just sleep walking."

"What did she say to me," Link asked, "What does nii-nii mean?"

"It is what she used to call her older brother Satoshi," Rika replied.

"Where is he," Link asked.

"Gone."

"Gone? Why?"

"There is a curse that takes place every year here."

"A curse?"

"It is the curse of Oyashiro," Rika explained, "It happens on the night of the Watanagashi Festival, and it has happened for four years straight."

"What," was all Link could manage to say.

"You see a number of years ago there was a plan to build a dam that would have put this village underwater."

Link stared intently and listened very carefully taking in everything that Rika was saying as she continued her explanation.

"The first year the man in charge of construction was brutally killed and hacked into pieces all but one of the criminals was caught and then the following year Satoko saw her parents die in a fall while they were on vacation. Then the year after that the priest of the Furude Shrine died from an illness and his wife went missing even though a suicide note was found but her body wasn't. They were my parents," Rika stated followed by a brief pause before she continued with her explanation, "Then the year after that Satoko' s aunt was found brutally beaten to death and her brother went missing and has yet to be found. Should it happen this year then it will be the fifth year in a row for it to occur."

Link was shocked to hear about this. He had heard of curses before and knew that they could be real since what happened to the Great Deku Tree after he got the spiritual stone of the forest and he knew that curses were not to be underestimated, but he had never heard of anything like this and almost couldn't believe it. After Rika finished she got back up.

"It is very late," she began, "We should get some sleep."

Link followed Rika into the kitchen and waited while she got herself a drink of water and followed her up the stairs and made sure that she got to her room alright. Then he took a look into Satoko's room to see if she was doing alright. He looked in and saw her lying on her side sleeping soundly. He quietly closed the door and headed down to the end of the hall and found the room that Rika had told him about and went into it and realized that the Master Sword and Hylian Shield were still downstairs so he quickly and quietly snuck downstairs and grabbed them and brought them back up into his room and got into the futon and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Link lay in the futon that was in his room and fell asleep rather quickly. He dreamt of Zelda and Gannondorf and what he was going to do to find him and defeat him. Suddenly he heard some noise around the outside of his room. His eyes fluttered and finally opened as he sat up in his futon. _What is going on out there, _Link thought. He got up out of the futon and opened up the door just a crack to see what was going on. He saw Rika there dressed in a blue outfit that had no sleeves but came down around her legs like a skirt it almost reminded Link of a dress.

"Come on Satoko," she called, "If you don't hurry we are going to be late."

"I'm coming," the voice of Satoko replied coming from her room.

Link opened the door and Rika looked at him and smiled.

"Good morning Link," Rika greeted, "Did you have a good sleep."

"Yeah," Link answered nodding his head, "What is going on?"

"Oh Satoko and I are getting ready to go to school," Rika answered.

"I see," Link replied, "Where is that?"

"It is in Hinamizawa."

"Is it far because if you need someone to escort you two again then I will go grab my sword and shield and go with you."

"No thanks, that won't be necessary."

"Rika I'm ready," Satoko's voice came as she opened up the door.

Link turned his head and saw Satoko standing there wearing a collared pink sleeveless shirt and a pair of blue shorts that had a belt on it.

"What took you so long," Rika asked.

"I am a little tired," Satoko replied, "I do not think that I slept too well last night."

At this Link and Rika gave each other a quick glance remembering what had happened the night before. They then went downstairs and went into the kitchen so that they could have a bite to eat. Even though it was a quick breakfast Link still thought that the food was pretty good.

"We better get going now," Rika stated as she finished, "See you later Link."

"See you later," Link replied, "Have a safe trip."

Rika and Satoko walked out of the house at a slightly quickened pace. The two were covered by the shadows of the trees that had been cast down onto the ground like some kind of rug. Occasionally the sound of a cicada could be heard and a cool breeze blew through the air that was rather refreshing.

"I wonder what we are going to do in club today," Satoko thought aloud.

"I do not know," Rika replied, "But I think that we should tell them about what happened with Link and those bikers yesterday."

"Why," Satoko asked.

"Well," Rika started, "I think that they would like to hear about it and maybe we can even get them to talk about letting Link join in."

"I see," Satoko replied, "Why do want to do that though?"

"Well," Rika replied, "I would like to see Link make friends with everyone in the club so that way he is not around the house bored all the time like he will be today."

"Good point," Satoko replied, "Look there are the school gates."

They entered the school of Hinamizawa and went into the front door. They stood in the little hallway and changed out of their shoes and into the shoes that they were allowed to wear in the classroom. They went into the classroom where everyone was waiting and they waved to them. The teacher walked in shortly after that and began the class for the day focusing on each grade level as was needed and making sure that the necessary homework was handed out. Then lunch followed by recess came and they went to eat and then to play outside in their gym uniforms. After that they went back into the classroom and settled down for a series of uneventful afternoon classes that seemed to take forever to get over with as the afternoon dragged on. Finally the teacher dismissed the class and all of the students left the classroom except for Rika, Satoko and the rest of their friends who were in the club. Keiichi and Rena started to move some of the desks together so that they could begin the day's events. After they got the desks arranged in the way that they wanted Rena started to speak.

"Something very strange happened to me the other day," Rena began.

"Oh really," Keiichi replied, "Like what?"

"Well," Rena started, "I was out doing one of my treasure hunts and I had found something that was incredibly cute and I just had to take it home. The item that I had found was trapped underneath some things that I couldn't move so I grabbed the cleaver that I use to free things up and was going to use it to break up some of the things that were on top of it. That is when it happened."

"When what happened," Mion asked.

"This guy fell right in front of me," Rena continued, "He was dressed really weird too. He had on this strange green hat. He wore a shirt that was green and shorts that were green. On his legs there seemed to be a brown pair of pants or tights or something. On his hands he had these gloves that part of them seemed like they were made out of gold. On his feet were these brown shoes. On his back there seemed to be a sword and a shield."

Satoko and Rika looked at each other because the description that Rena was giving them was a perfect match to what Link looked like and so they listened more intently as Rena continued on with her story.

"This guy sounds really weird," Keiichi remarked.

"He had blonde hair, and blue eyes," Rena continued, "He seemed to be around our age too. He then saw that the cleaver that I had in my hands and got onto his feet immediately and he took out the sword that was strapped onto his back and started to slowly back away. He got several feet back and then put the sword away and turned and ran. It was really weird."

"That really is strange," Mion replied, "You should be careful, someone like that could be dangerous."

"Don't worry," Rika stated suddenly causing everyone to look at her, "He is not dangerous at all."

"How would you know," Rena asked surprised.

"Because we ran into the same guy," Satoko answered before Rika could get a chance to speak.

"You what," Rena stated in surprise.

"Yeah," Satoko continued, "Rika and I were low on groceries and so we decided to walk over to Okinomiya and get ourselves some groceries which is what we did and when we got out of the store we decided to put the bags down so that we could get a better grip."

"That is when while picking up her bags," Rika continued on with the story, "That Satoko lost her balance and fell onto some motorcycles that were parked by the grocery store. They fell onto each other like dominos first one motorcycle then the next. Then the owners of the motorcycles came over and cornered the two of us into an alley that was next to the grocery store."

"Then," Satoko picked up with the story again, "That is when the guy that Rena described showed up. He told them to stop bullying us and then the attention of the bikers turned toward him. The guy in green made some remarks about them and they started to close in on him and that is when the guy in green started to beat them up one by one."

"Then," Rika took up telling the story again, "Once he had knocked each of them over he moved to us and stood in front of us faced the bikers and pulled out his sword. Then one of the bikers pulled out a pistol and aimed it at him."

"He did what," Keiichi stated in pure shock.

"Then the sword that he was holding started to make a noise and when I looked at it," Rika continued, "It was glowing an orange color. Satoko and I closed our eyes as the man in green swung the sword and the biker started to pull the trigger. We both heard a strange sound but no gunfire and so we both opened our eyes and the man that was wearing green was standing there with the sword in the air and then the gun that the biker was holding fell into two pieces."

"What," Mion replied, "He cut a gun in half?"

"Yeah," Satoko answered, "That caused the bikers to run away and then he put the sword back and asked us if we were okay and then escorted Rika and me home."

"His name is Link," Rika started, "And he really is a nice person. Right now he is currently staying at our house."

"Rika," Keiichi started, "You shouldn't just let random people into your house that could be extremely dangerous."

"I know," Rika answered, "But he did not show any intent to harm us and he was very kind and even carried the groceries for Satoko and I all the way home. He stayed for dinner and that is when we found out that he really did not have a place to stay so we let him stay and he was really grateful for that."

"If you guys could meet him then you would be able to see that he is not the kind of person who would try to harm us," Satoko stated.

"Actually," Rika started, "I would like to have him come here so that you guys can meet him and I was wondering if we could let him join in on our club."

Keiichi, Rena and Mion sat there a while thinking about whether or not it would be a good idea to let Rika and Satoko have this person that Rena saw and that saved Rika and Satoko from a group of bikers join in their meetings.

"Well," Mion started after a while, "You can bring him and then we will all decide for ourselves whether or not he can join the club. Are there any objections to that?"

"No," Keiichi replied.

"No," Rena answered.

'Then we will tell him when we want him to come on down to the school," Rika stated, "Looks like it has gotten rather late so we should all head home we will see you tomorrow."

Rika and Satoko walked back to their home and took their time because they were thinking about how Link would react to this and what would happen when he showed up tomorrow. It was not long before they reached their home and opened up the door.

"We're home," Satoko stated as they entered.

At this they saw Link come walking very quickly from their living room. His eyes were wide and his mouth was in a frown. They both watched as he eyed them over very carefully.

"Where were you," Link started, "You were both gone for so long that I was about to grab the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield and go out looking for you."

"We were at school," Rika answered.

"Does this school usually take this long," Link asked.

"No, but," Satoko began, "Usually at the end of the day there is time to do homework and then when it lets out most of the students head home but for Rika and I the two of us are in a club that meets after school is over and sometimes those meetings take a while."

"I see," Link stated having calmed down since seeing that they were both alright and after hearing the two explain.

"Speaking of that," Rika began, "We would like for you to come down to our school at around three in the afternoon."

"Why," Link asked.

"That will be a surprise," Satoko answered.

"How will I know when I am supposed to go," Link asked.

"You see that thing over there that has the numbers that show 5:00," Rika started, "When tomorrow in the afternoon that says 3:00 then you should leave so that you can make it on time."

"How will I be able to find this school," Link asked.

"It is very easy to find and you can walk us to school tomorrow as well," Satoko replied, "But it would be best if you left your sword and shield here because you could get into really big trouble for bringing those things to where the town's children are."

"I see," Link stated, "Then I will look forward to it."

They went to eat dinner which like the previous night was very delicious. After that Link helped with the cleaning of the dishes and not long after Satoko told them that she was heading to bed. After they had finished Rika and Link had walked into the living room.

"How was she today," Link asked Rika, "There was nothing like what happened last night was there?"

"No," Rika began, "But-"

"But what," Link asked.

"I will tell you but you must promise not to tell or else I will not allow you to stay here anymore," Rika replied.

"I swear on my life that I will not tell anyone," Link stated with his hand raised in the air.

"After the death of her parents," Rika began, "Satoko and her older brother Satoshi were sent to their aunt and uncle because they were the closest relatives that they had. Then that is when it started."

"What started," Link asked.

"The abuse," Rika answered, "Her aunt and uncle hated having them around they often yelled at the two for practically no reason and even though during this time Satoko wore pants and long sleeve shirts you could tell that they were beating her."

Link's eyes grew wide at what he was hearing. _What kind of people could do that to their own family especially after they lost their parents, _Link thought.

"There was many times where I would see her limping," Rika continued, "Satoshi was tired too. There was one time when I walked with her back to her home along with Satoshi and their uncle was inside playing a game with his friends and when he noticed Satoko there he yelled at her and her brother stood up for her. That is probably why he was always so out of it and always seemed to be so tired because he was always standing up for his little sister."

"What happened after that," Link asked.

"Well everyone wanted to help," Rika began, "But the problem was that neither of them would admit to the abuse. Then the time for the Watanagashi came which was a year after the incidents with my parents happened and then on the night of the festival her aunt was found brutally bludgeoned to death and then Satoshi went missing. Her uncle left town soon after that and that is when I allowed her to start living here."

"That is incredible," Link started, "It is hard to believe that Satoko went through all that and is the way that she is today."

"Don't tell anyone," Rika told him.

"I won't," Link replied, "But why did you think it was necessary to tell me this?"

"Because," Rika began, "I have not seen a look like that on Satoko' s face since that time and the way that she called you the same thing that she called her brother reminded of that time."

After that Rika got up and headed off to bed leaving Link sitting in the living room thinking. _She is a very brave girl to have been able to go through that and still be able to smile today, _Link thought. Link sat in the dark room for a while wondering how he could help Satoko when he decided that it was getting too late and headed up to go to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Link fell asleep and slept very soundly through the night until he heard a knocking at his door and the voice of Rika coming from the other side.

"Link," Rika began, "We are getting ready for school now so you should probably get up too."

"Okay," Link answered as he sat up and rubbed his eyes before stretching and letting out a yawn.

Link got up and reached for his hat placing it on his head as he opened the door to his temporary room. He walked down the hallway and down the stairs then he headed into the direction of the kitchen. Once there he found Satoko getting the breakfast ready. Upon hearing him enter the room she turned to him and smiled.

"Good morning Link," Satoko greeted.

"Good morning," Link replied, "Did you want some help with making the breakfast?"

"Sure."

Link walked up to where Satoko was standing and looked down at the little girl who already had a start on making the first meal of the day.

"Here take this," Satoko told Link as she handed him a bag of rice.

"Okay," Link replied taking the bag of rice, "What is it that you want me to do with it?"

"Take the rice out of the bag and form it into little balls with your hands and place it in this pan on the stove to cook it."

Link nodded his head as he reached inside the bag to grab some rice. When he grabbed what he thought to be a fair amount he pulled his hand out and started to try and form balls with his hands. As he proceeded to do this though the rice started falling onto the countertop and a little bit of it even went onto the floor.

"Are you trying to make it snow in here or something," Satoko joked.

"No," Link laughed, "I never did much cooking when I was back in Hyrule."

"Really," Satoko replied, "Then what did you eat?"

"Whatever I bought in the market."

The two continued on making the breakfast and couldn't help but look at Satoko as she worked on making the meal. _She must be really strong to have been able to go through everything that she went through and still be able to smile like that today, _Link thought. Then Link noticed that she had caught him looking at her.

"What are you looking at me for," Satoko started, "The rice is not going to form itself into balls."

"You never know," Link joked.

Satoko and Link let out a little laugh at the joke and then started working on the meal again.

"This sure brings back memories," Satoko stated, "Satoshi and I when we were with our parents would have so much fun like this.

Link couldn't help but notice how the look on Satoko's face changed. Her eyes went to the floor and her once smiling mouth now went straight and there seemed to be almost no emotion in her face at all and when she mentioned the memories of her brother there was a hint of sadness in her voice. Link felt a pang of pain as he saw Satoko like this then he saw Satoko shake her head back and forth.

"We better hurry so that we can actually have breakfast," Satoko stated trying to change the subject.

"Yeah," Link replied feeling bad about bringing the subject of her brother Satoshi.

Not long after that they had finished making breakfast and Rika came into the room and they sat down to have some rice balls. When the meal was finished the three of them went to leave. Link stood waiting as the two came back with packs on their backs. Then they started off on their way to the school building. The sky was bright and there was a small breeze that was cool and felt really good.

"So how far away is this school," Link asked.

"Not terribly far from where we live," Rika replied.

"We should be able to get there with time to spare," Satoko stated.

"Why does that make a difference," Link asked.

"Because we have to be there by a certain time and then the classes start," Satoko explained, "Didn't you ever go to school?"

"No, not really," Link answered shaking his head.

The three of them continued on their walk down a dirt path and eventually ended up walking under the shade of some of trees which was made the slight breeze feel even cooler and more comfortable. It was not long before they reached a gate and once they walked through the gate Link saw a small one story building that had some windows in it and he could see several other children heading in the direction of the school and noticed that the ages of these children varied greatly.

"Seems like kids of all ages come to this school," Link stated as he continued to look around.

"That's because it is the only school in Hinamizawa and there is only one class which is made up of all the children and there is only one teacher to teach all of those students," Rika explained.

"Wow," Link replied, "That teacher must have to work pretty hard to teach students of different ages."

"She does and she is a really nice teacher," Rika told Link.

"Well," Satoko began, "We should probably get in so that way we can make it on time."

"Good idea," Rika replied, "We will see you this afternoon Link. Bye."

"Bye," Link answered back as he waved and started to walk away.

He took the path back up to Rika and Satoko's house and once he got there he started to look for something to do. _I should probably brush up on my sword skills so that way I will be ready for when I run into Gannondorf, _Link thought. He grabbed the Master Sword and Hylian Shield and then headed out back. Once out there he took a deep breath and began swinging the Master Sword and ducking and rolling and also practiced deflecting blows with his shield and then started practicing jabs and thrusts. _I best see if I still have the ability to do the charge attack that the Great Fairy of Magic gave me, _Link thought. Link held the Master Sword and started to focus all his power into the blade which started to glow and hum as the color on the sword gradually changed from blue to orange and then Link finally swung the sword unleashing a wave of energy that spread out a little ways and disappeared. _Good, _Link thought, _I am glad that I can still use that because it could come in handy when I have to face Gannondorf again. _Link continued practicing his sword technique until he began to feel rather exhausted and went into the house to have a drink. He went over to the faucet which he had seen Satoko and Rika use before when they were cooking or getting water to drink. He grabbed the cup that they had next to the faucet and he turned it and soon water was coming out and into the drain. He placed the cup underneath the flowing stream of water until it was almost full and then took it out from underneath and shut the water off. He then sat down to have his drink and once that was done he went into the living room to sit down and pay attention to the time. On his way there he bumped into a small chest and something fell over. He quickly picked it up and saw a picture. In the picture was a smiling Satoko and saw an older boy who had blonde hair wearing a white shirt and some shorts standing next to her with his hand on her shoulder and he was smiling as well. _This must be a picture of Satoko with her brother Satoshi, _Link thought, _she looks so happy here and now she has to live without her brother. Maybe there is something that I can do to make her feel better about it. _He set the picture back on the chest and sat down in a chain in the living room. He looked over at the clock which read 12:30 and decided to rest his eyes for a little bit. He dreamed about the forest where had come from and imagined all the houses in the trees and all the Kokiri that inhabited them. When he finally opened his eyes he saw that the clock read 3:10. _Crap, _Link thought, _I'm late._ Link got up and headed out the door. When he stepped out the door he was greeted by a blast of heat but ignored it and started to hurry down the path that he had been shown earlier and eventually he found the gates and jogged through them into the school. He hurried into the door and started to walk down the hallway and stopped outside a classroom when he heard voices coming from inside. He stood there silent for a moment, and then he heard a voice that he could not have possibly mistaken.

"Where is he," Satoko complained, "We told him how to use the clock to tell time so he should be here by now."

"I'm sure that he will be here soon," Rika stated.

Link took this as a good point at which he would enter the classroom. He slid the door open and looked in on the group that was in the classroom. He looked into a room with windows on the wall opposite him, in the front of the room was a chalkboard and at the room was filled with small desks. At the front of the room sat a rather large desk which he guessed probably belonged to the teacher. At the back of the room there were metal things that looked like they could store items. Then Link started to notice the people in the room who were looking at him. The first person that he saw was tall with green hair and eyes. She was wearing a shirt which was tucked into a long pink skirt and the shirt was white with a pink stripe around the collar and a pink strip close to the edge of her sleeves, and on top of that she was wearing a small yellow vest. The next person that he saw was a boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a white shirt but through the collar you could see that there was a red shirt underneath, his shirt was tucked into black pants that he wore. Of course Rika and Satoko were wearing what they were wearing that morning when they woke up and got dressed which was very similar to what they wore the previous day. Then his eyes drifted onto the final person in the room and he recognized her straight away. She had red hair and she wore a suit that made her look like a sailor aside from the blue skirt that she was wearing. Link recognized her from that pile of junk that he fell onto when he first came here and remembered that she was holding some type of blade in her hands. This caused him to call out to Rika and Satoko.

"Rika, Satoko," he called, "Get back, she's dangerous."

Link pointed at the red haired girl and everyone held a look of complete shock on their faces.

"Link," Rika started as she took a step towards Link, "It's okay, she's a friend."

"When I first arrived here," Link began, "I found her in a pile of junk and she had some kind of blade in her hands and she had raised it above her head."

"Oh so you're that person I saw that day," the red haired girl said as she looked at Link, "I'm sorry to have scared you off."

At seeing the apologetic look in her eyes Link could sense that she meant what she said and regretted the comments that he had made earlier.

"Sorry," Link apologized, "I jumped to conclusions, my name is Link."

"Nice to meet you Link," the red haired girl replied, "My name is Rena Ryugu."

"I'm Keiichi Maebara," the brown haired boy introduced himself.

"I am Mion Sonozaki," the green haired girl introduced herself, "I take it that you already know Rika and Satoko."

Link nodded his head to acknowledge the statement. He took a chair and sat down in it.

"So," Link began, "What is going on?"

"Well Link," Mion began, "We have heard a little about you from our friends Rika and Satoko."

"Such as," Link inquired.

"Such as how you saved them from some nasty bikers," Mion replied.

Link could feel himself turn a little red, he had never helped somebody who went out and start to tell others what he did to help them.

"For that we would like to thank you," Mion thanked him.

"It is uh," Link found himself at a loss for words, since this had never happened to him before, "It's what I do."

"Anyway," Mion continued, "Getting back to the main point as to why you have been asked to come here is so that we can bring the issue to the rest of the club here about making you a member of our club. Are there any objections?"

"No objections," Rena replied with a smile on her face.

"No objections here," Keiichi replied.

"No objections," Rika replied.

"No objections," Satoko replied.

"And I have no objections either so," Mion began, "Congratulations Link, welcome into our club."

"What is it that this club does exactly," Link questioned.

"Ahem," Mion cleared her throat as if she was getting ready to make a big speech, "Our club tries to counter this complicated society and in prosperity or adversity our activities are decided by…"

"Mion," Keiichi interjected, "You gave this rant when I was allowed into this club, why can't you just say what we actually do?"

"I like this better," Mion replied.

"Basically," Rika began, "We just play games in our club."

"I see," Link replied.

"However," Mion continued, "We don't play games such as house and we go all in so if you show the slightest hint of weakness then you will find yourself getting left behind."

"Okay," Link started, "I think that I can manage that, are there any rules or anything that I need to worry about?"

"Only two," Mion answered, "Rule number one: Strive only for first!"

"And rule two," Satoko piped in full of energy, "To do that, putting forth all possible effort is required."

"I think that I can deal with that," Link replied.

After that was done they spent some time teaching Link how to play simple games such as Old Maid, Go Fish and War. After they were done with that they realized that it was getting late and they all got ready to head home.


	7. Chapter 7

My apologies for not posting a new chapter in such a long time but things over the summer got very busy and then I had to go off to college which likewise has been rather busy keeping me from getting to post a new chapter but I hope that you will keep reading. So read, review and enjoy. Thanks.

**Chapter 7**

Link walked alongside Rika and Satoko as they headed home. The evening air was cool and crisp. He looked at Rika and Satoko who were busy chatting with each other about the things that had happened at school. When they saw him looking at them the two of them smiled.

"I hope that you will be able to catch on to the way that our club does things," Satoko stated.

"Why is that," Link asked.

"Because if you do not catch on then you will have to deal with the punishment games," Satoko answered, "But since you're new we will probably go easy on you."

"Define what 'going easy on me' is," Link asked.

"Well," Satoko began, "When Keiichi first joined we played the game Old Maid and he ended up in last place and as a punishment game Mion drew on his face with a marker."

"I see," Link replied as he thought about what that would look like.

"Don't worry," Rika encouraged, "I am sure that Link will do just fine in the club."

They continued on at a quickened pace since it was starting to get a little dark. It was not very long before they got back home. When they walked through the door Link could hear his stomach growl then when he noticed Rika and Satoko looking at him and smiling he turned red.

"Sorry," Link apologized, "I guess the walk made me a little hungry."

"I bet you really clean out the market place where you're from," Satoko joked.

"Why you little," Link began and they all started to laugh.

"Well," Rika began, "Since we do not have any homework I guess we can get started on making some dinner."

Link nodded his head and followed the Rika and Satoko into the kitchen so that they could start cooking. Link got the dishes out and he set them on the table while Satoko turned on the stove and Rika pulled out a very large bottle.

"What is in that," Link asked.

"Soy sauce," Rika answered smiling as she moved the bottle around in her hands playfully.

"Is it good," Link asked.

"Yes," Rika answered, "It is very good."

Link watched as she took the lid off of the bottle and took a peek inside. Then he saw her face turn to one of disappointment.

"What is it," Link asked.

"We're out," Rika answered.

"Well why don't you go to Mion's to get some," Satoko asked.

"Good idea," Rika replied, "We can start cooking when I get back."

"Are you going to need someone to go with you," Link asked as Rika headed toward the door.

"No thank you," Rika answered, "It is not a very long walk to Mi-chan's house and I know it very well, don't worry."

Link watched her as she went off and when he could not see her then he turned around and headed back into the kitchen where Satoko was turning off the stove and anything else that had been turned on for cooking. They both started to head into the living room. Since Rika had left all they had to do was wait for her to return so that way they could cook and eat their dinner and Link began to walk into the living room. As Link was walking to the living room he passed by the same picture that he had found before and he stopped to look at it. Satoko standing next to her brother Satoshi and the two of them smiling like they hadn't a care in the world. _What a terrible thing to happen to a good hearted person, _Link thought. Though he couldn't hear her Satoko had just walked into the room.

"What are you doing Link," she asked as she entered the room.

"Oh just looking at this picture," Link replied, "You and your brother look really happy in this picture."

Link immediately felt like saying that was a mistake as Satoko became deathly quiet and her eyes went to the ground.

"I am sorry," Link apologized, "I am sure that it must be a painful memory to have, losing your brother."

"How do you know," Satoko asked surprised that Link knew about her brother.

"I will tell you," Link answered, "But Rika will not be happy if she found out that I told you so let's just keep this between the two of us."

Link looked at Satoko and waited for her to nod in acknowledgement and then he proceeded to continue.

"The first night that I spent up here I stayed up after you and Rika had gone to sleep," Link began, "After a little while Rika got up because she wanted something to drink and she came to where I was. We had talked for a little while and then all of a sudden there was a tug on my tunic."

Satoko tilted her head in confusion as Link continued on with his story.

"The person that was tugging on my tunic was you Satoko," Link continued, "However it seemed like you were in some kind of trance or something and then you called me something."

"What did I call you," Satoko asked.

"Nii-nii," Link answered, "I asked Rika what this meant and she told me that nii-nii is what you used to call your older brother. After that she told me about the curse that has been happening here for four straight years. I am sorry if I seem to be intruding on something painful, but you see I too know what it is like to have no family."

"What," Satoko asked in surprise.

"You see at the time that I was born," Link began, "There was a war raging that my country was involved in and when my mother tried to escape to safety she was wounded, but she pulled herself together to bring me to a place where I would be watched over."

Satoko seemed to be listening intently as she had leaned in to hear more of what Link was telling her.

"Shortly after that," Link continued, "She died and I was placed in the care of the Kokiri. I never knew my mother, I had no siblings, and I never knew my father. I was left there with no family and was forced to make my way all alone."

Link looked at Satoko she still had her head tilted down from having to recall what happened to her brother, but the fact that she was not the only one who had lost family seemed to have comforted her. Link put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," Link told her, "I am sure that your brother will turn up, and until he comes back I will try my best to be a brother to you."

Satoko looked up at Link with tears in her eyes. Link patted her head and kneeled down.

"Don't worry," Link comforted patting Satoko's head, "Don't cry, Rika will get worried."

At this Link found Satoko wrapping her arms around him in a hug and could feel her tears falling onto his tunic. Link wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug. After Satoko took a step back Link using his thumb carefully wiped away the tears. Then they heard a noise at the door.

"Looks like Rika is back," Link stated, "Come on let's get cooking so that way we can eat."

Link walked forward and opened the door to let Rika who was standing there in.

"Do you want me to carry that in for you," Link asked.

"Would you please," Rika asked.

"No problem," Link answered as he took the bottle from Rika and to his surprise it seemed very heavy.

"Thanks," Rika replied gratefully.

The three of them walked into the kitchen where Satoko got back to turning on the stove and other things that need to be switched on so that they could start cooking. Link was going back and forth helping both Rika and Satoko as they needed it. After a while the meal was ready to eat and they all sat down at the table. When they started eating Link was once again surprised at how good these two girls were able to cook.

"Link," Rika, "There is something that both you and Satoko should know."

"What," Link asked.

"There will be a club meeting tomorrow after school," Rika began, "During it we will discuss what we will be doing for the festival that will be coming up."

"Okay," Satoko replied, "When did you find out about this?"

"When I went to Mion's house to get the soy sauce she told me to tell you about it," Rika answered.

"What about the others," Link asked.

"She had called them up to let them know," Rika answered, "When I got there she was just getting ready to call us up to let us know."

They then continued to eat dinner without much more discussion. When they were done Link helped them clean up and get everything put away. By the time that they were done with the cleaning it was already very late and they decided to go to bed so that they could get enough rest for school tomorrow. When Rika got to her room and closed the door Link walked Satoko back to her room.

"Goodnight," Link said to Satoko.

"Goodnight Link," Satoko replied.

Link turned around and started to walk towards his room when Satoko called his name.

"Link," Satoko called.

"Yeah," Link stated as he turned around to face Satoko.

"Thank you," Satoko thanked, "For being here for me."

Link stood there for a while not knowing what to say and just smiled back at Satoko who returned his smile with one of her own before she turned around closed her door and went back into her room. Link walked to his room closed the door and settled in for a good night of rest.


	8. Chapter 8

I am very sorry for not having posted a chapter in a long time, but things in college have been very busy and I have not been able to get a chance at typing up a chapter like I would want to but I hope that all of you reading this story will understand. With that being said please read, review and most importantly enjoy.

**Chapter 8**

Link opened his eyes to the sound of chirping birds that he could hear just outside his room. He looked at the clock and saw that it was quite early, not quite time for Rika and Satoko to get up so he laid back down trying to fall asleep. When he couldn't he got up and headed downstairs into the living room. He found himself a comfy seat and just waited. After a while he heard the two getting up for school upstairs. He waited for a little while longer and Rika and Satoko could be heard coming down the stairs. Link then decided to get up and walk over to the kitchen with them.

"Good morning," Rika greeted.

"Good morning," Link replied.

They quickly got to removing things from the cupboards so that way they could make breakfast and eat it. Once that was done the Rika and Satoko went to get their backpacks and head off to school.

"Mind if I tag along," Link asked.

"Sure," Satoko replied, "But why?"

"I just want to be able to get to know the way to the school better so that way I do not end up wandering off in the wrong direction," Link replied.

The three of them soon had headed off to school. Link examined the area making markers for him to remember so that way he would be able to tell if he was on the right track. It was while looking around that he saw a small building of some sort. Looking at it he started to get a deep sense of foreboding about it and stopped in his tracks, and he could feel something resonating within him. He looked down at his hand and could see that the Triforce on his hand was resonating. _What can this mean;_ Link thought to himself, _The Triforce only resonates like this when it is in the presence of someone who holds another piece of the Triforce. Then does that mean that…_

"Link what is going on," Satoko asked, "Why did you stop?"

"Nothing," Link answered as he turned away from the small building as he continued on with the two.

"What were you looking at back there," Rika asked as they continued.

"There was this small building there and it seemed out of place," Link replied.

"Oh that would be a shrine dedicated Oyashiro the guardian god of Hinamizawa," Rika answered, "It is important that you never go in there Link because that will greatly upset Oyashiro."

"I see," Link replied.

The three of them continued on their trip until they arrived at the entrance to the school. Link let the two go in and when they had turned and waved at him he waved back and turned around to head back to the house. The shrine that was there was in his mind the entire time. When he finally got back to the house he went to grab himself a glass of water to drink. After that he went up to his room and grabbed the Master Sword and his Hylian Shield. He headed out to the back yard and began to practice his strikes and defensive maneuvers for several hours. He then went into the house to grab another glass of water. He sat on a chair in the living room and relaxed for a bit. No matter how hard he tried he could not get the image of that shrine out of his head. _There is something wrong with that shrine. _Link thought. He then got up and brought his shield and sword back to his room and placed them where he had left them. He then headed downstairs and looked at the time. He still had ample amount of time before he needed to head out to attend the club meeting that was going to be held today. He could not stop thinking about the shrine and the dark feelings that he had gotten when he had been near it. He headed out the door and started down the path using the things that he had made mental notes of until he got to the same place that he had been when he got those feelings. He looked and he could see the shrine then he quickly looked around to see that there was no one around and when he saw that there was no one there he headed in the direction of the shrine. When he got to the entrance of the shrine he saw that it had been padlocked shut. _Looks like I won't be able to get in, _Link thought, _but maybe I can find a window or something to look into._ Link walked around the shrine trying to find somewhere he could look into the shrine. He eventually found a spot where he could and he once again looked around quickly to confirm that no one was there. When he could not find anyone around he went closer to the window and took a look inside. Link was shocked at what he saw. All over the place there were different assortments of different types of torture devices and the most shocking thing was that he could see that some of them had dried blood on them indicating that they had at one point been used. Then Link saw something out of the corner of his eye. Link was going to investigate further but he looked up at the sky and could see that it was already well into the afternoon and decided that he should head out toward the school so that way he would not be late for the meeting. He quickly headed back to the road that they had used to get to school but Link looked back still feeling the darkness that seemed to be emanating from the shrine. When he got to the school he could see the rest of the kids leaving the school. He walked into the school and found his way to the classroom that they had had the meeting that Link first went to. When he got there he could see everyone getting their desks in order so that they could have their meeting.

"Oh Link," Mion said when she saw him standing in the doorway, "Come on in and help us get these desks set up so that way we can have our club meeting."

Link nodded his head and entered into the classroom and closed the door behind him. He grabbed a desk and positioned it where the other desks were being put and it was not long before they had all the desks aligned where they wanted them to be. They all took their seats as Mion remained standing.

"As you all know," she began, "The Watanagashi festival is tomorrow and I have called our club meeting today to discuss what we will be doing at the festival."

"Excuse me," Link started, "But what exactly is this Watanagashi festival?"

"It is a festival in which we take the cotton from things like our futons and gather it all up and we thank them and then we are handed a little ball of cotton to drift down the river," Mion replied, "It is because of this that the festival is also known as the Cotton Drifting Festival."

"I see," Link replied.

"Now because of Rika's duties as the shrine maiden," Mion continued, "She will have to perform a ceremonial dance and as a result of that we will have to hold our club activities during the day. This means that we will have the Battle of Five Evils this year as well."

"Actually now that we have Link here," Rika began, "It will be the Battle of Six Evils."

"Wait," Link interjected, "What do you mean by the Battle of Six Evils?"

"Basically," Mion started, "It means that we will be doing club activities at the stalls that are at the festival."

Link nodded his head to acknowledge that he understood but he was a little troubled at the fact that he would be part of a group that had the name "Battle of the Six Evils" in it because he had always been fighting evil, but he guessed that it was just a fancy name for the people that were in the group. He listened as Mion gave the plans for what they were going to do at the festival and then watching Rika do her part in the festival and what they were going to do after that for the rest of the night. When the meeting was over Link helped put the desks back into their original spots and after that said goodbye to everyone and headed out with Rika and Satoko.

"Rika," Link began, "You did not tell me that you were a shrine maiden."

"I am," Rika answered, "Because the ceremony that I am involved with takes place at the Furude Shrine."

_That makes sense, _Link thought; _her last name is Furude after all. _They continued on their way home and Link found himself stopping to look at the shrine again. Link did not know what it was about that shrine but he got a really bad feeling every time he passed by it.

"Come on Link," he could hear Satoko calling after him.

Link could feel the Triforce on his hand resonating almost uncontrollably as he headed away from the shrine. _I do not know what is inside that place that is causing the Triforce on my hand to resonate like that, _Link thought, _but whatever it is it is pure evil._


	9. Chapter 9

The section that is in italics is the dream that Link has in this chapter. Just thought that I should say that to prevent any possible confusion. So please read, review, and most importantly enjoy.

**Chapter 9**

Link gave the shrine one last backward glance as they continued on their way home. When they got there they quickly set about making dinner. Link listened quietly while Rika and Satoko made dinner and he helped prepare the dishes. After that was all done they sat down at the table and began to eat. Rika and Satoko mainly talked about school. At the end of dinner Link helped clean up the dishes and put them away. After which they went to sleep because the Watanagashi was the next day. Link went up into his room and was lying down to go to sleep. When he closed his eyes he started to dream.

_Link found himself standing in front of the shrine. It was dark and the wind was blowing a cool breeze. Link shivered a little as he looked around. _

"_Rika," Link called, "Satoko."_

_Silence met his calls. He looked down at his hand and he could see that the Triforce on his hand was resonating again. He then noticed that he had the Master Sword and Hylian Shield on his back. He drew the sword and shield and started to head in the direction of the shrine. He slowly approached it. He soon found himself standing in front of the door to the shrine. Even though it was pitch dark he could feel something even darker emanating from the shrine. He saw that the lock was no longer on the door. He reached up to open the door and then he heard a voice._

"_Link."_

_Link recognized the voice and quickly turned around and saw Satoko standing there. She was wearing her regular clothes but it was her face that caught him. Her eyes were wide but empty and there were tears streaming down her cheeks. Link sheathed his sword and started to walk toward her._

"_You said that you would be a brother to me," she stated._

"_Yes," Link replied with growing concern._

"_You said that you would not leave me," Satoko cried._

"_I'm not going to," Link replied._

"_LIAR," Satoko screamed as suddenly she burst into flames._

_Link started to run and by the time that he got to where Satoko was standing there was nothing left. Suddenly the shrine behind him exploded. Link whirled around to see the dust settle and there was a silhouette standing there. Link drew his sword and started to walk toward the figure and suddenly a ring of fire encompassed Link and the silhouetted figure. Then Link heard the deep laughter coming from the silhouette as he lunged at Link with two swords drawn. Even though he was coming at Link the only thing that Link could see were his fiery red eyes. Then Link noticed that one of the two swords was above his head and was coming down with such force that he would not be able to stop it. Link closed his eyes as the sword was about to come down upon his head._

"Link wake up," Satoko called.

Link sat upright in bed and was covered with sweat. _What the hell was that, _Link thought as the sound of his heart beating could be heard in his head. He slowly got up and got dressed. He went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. _That's right it is the day of the Watanagashi, _Link thought. He went back into his room and grabbed the Master Sword and Hylian Shield and put them on. He then walked down the stairs to where Satoko was waiting for him. She looked very surprised at how Link looked.

"Link," Satoko started, "What are you doing with that sword and shield?"

"I think that it would be best that I carry it around with me today," Link replied, "If it is a festival then there will be a lot of people there and you never know who might do what."

"Link," Satoko replied, "There will be security there watching for things like that and if you show up with a sword and shield they will think that you are there to cause trouble and you will get in trouble."

"How about this," Link started, "I will carry them to a certain point and if it seems to me like something is amiss then I will go get them."

"Sounds fine," Satoko replied.

They all got started making breakfast and Link noticed that Rika was not there yet.

"Satoko," Link began, "Where is Rika?"

"She is probably getting herself ready for the dance that she has to do at the shrine," Satoko answered.

Link nodded as they finished breakfast and Satoko went to get Rika. When Rika came into the room Link was surprised. Rika was wearing an outfit where the top looked like a whit kimono and the bottom was red. On her feet she had sandals on.

"Wow Rika," Link stated, "You look great."

"Thanks," Rika replied as she went up to get something to eat. They all ate breakfast rather quickly and then headed out. The sun was out in the sky but not too much so it was still morning. When they passed by the shrine that was in Link's dream Link walked over to a tree that had some bushes by it and placed the Master Sword and Hylian Shield in the bushes in such a way that they would not be seen. He then went to catch up to Rika and Satoko. They continued walking into town. When they got to the spot where Mion said that they would be meeting everyone else was there.

"Morning," Satoko greeted.

"Morning," Link greeted.

"Morning," Rika greeted.

After Rika showed herself the looks of amazement could be seen on everyone's faces.

"You look great," Keiichi complimented.

"That outfit looks really nice on you," Mion complimented.

"You look so cute," Rena stated, "I'm going to take you home."

For a moment they all had to prevent Rena from taking off with Rika but after they got her calmed down they all headed out to play different types of games. The first thing that they did was an eating contest at a stand that sold very hot food. Link could not believe that he would be able to taste anything again after eating as much of that food as he did. They then went to play a game where they had to shoot at prizes with a toy gun. When it came to Link's turn he lined up the barrel with a little teddy bear and pulled the trigger. The cork shot out and hit the teddy bear knocking it over.

"Great shot," Keiichi stated.

"Thanks," Link replied, "Here Satoko, this is for you."

"Thanks," Satoko answered as she was handed the teddy bear.

They continued going around the stalls competing in various types of games. It was not long before the found it getting late and they all headed in the direction of where the shrine dance was going to be held. Link watched as Rika appeared before the crowd and a man wearing a mask started to pound a drum and Rika who was holding some kind of tool started her dance. She waved the tool around as the man with the mask beat the drum. Eventually she walked up to an altar where a bunch of cotton had been placed and she used the tool to seemingly cut through the cotton. After that the drummer stopped and everyone applauded and got into lines to be handed a small ball of cotton to drift down the river. Link got his ball of cotton and walked to where everyone else was waiting for him and then he imitated what they did and placed the ball of cotton into the river and clasped his hands together and closed his eyes for a short period of time and then that was it.

"What are we going to do now," Link asked.

"Let's take a walk," Mion replied, "That okay with everyone."

"No problem," Keiichi answered, "Where are we going?"

"Around," Mion answered.

Everyone started walking with Mion in front. Link followed them as they started up the path that would take them to the path that he took with Rika and Satoko. It was rather dark and the wind was blowing a little bit. It was a little cool. Link was not sure how long they had been walking when he notice that they were passing the shrine. As soon as Link passes it the Triforce on his hand started to resonate so strongly that his hand was visibly shaking. Link stopped in his tracks and Satoko bumped into him from behind.

"What's going on Link," she asked.

Link without answering her started to walk over to where he had placed the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. He picked them up and put them on. Before he knew what he was doing he started to head in the direction of the shrine. The Triforce was resonating so strongly that Link knew why the Triforce of Courage was reacting so strongly.

"Link where are you going," Satoko called out.

Everyone else stopped and went to where Satoko was and when they saw what Link was doing they were all surprised.

"Link," Rena called, "What are you doing?"

The others watched as Link approached the shrine and took out the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield.

"Link stop it," Mion shouted, "This is a place where we are not supposed to go."

Link soon found himself standing in front of the door and looking at the padlock. The Triforce on his hand was resonating so strongly that his hand was shaking involuntarily. _Found you Gannondorf_, Link thought. He then raised the Sword and struck the lock which came off immediately.

"Link stop it," Rena called as the others ran in his direction.

"Stand back," Link shouted at them.

Suddenly the shrine door flew off. There was a crackling sound and then suddenly a purplish light appeared and flew at Link with lightning speed. Link was able to swing his sword to block it but the force at which it was coming at him made him lose his balance and he fell backwards. It was not long after this that they could hear the sound coming again from inside the shrine. Link quickly got up and readied his shield. Suddenly a man could be seen flying through the roof of the shrine. The man was wearing black armor and a cape that was as red as blood and had red hair and a beard and his eyes held an evil stare. The man took a look at the group and let out an evil laugh. He then turned his attention to Link.

"Long time no see," the man in black armor glared at Link.

"Gannondorf," Link replied.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey everyone. I am sorry for not posting this sooner but while on Christmas vacation at home I do not have any internet so that is why it has taken so long for this chapter to get posted. Sorry for the delay but please as always read, review and enjoy.

**Chapter 10**

The group stood there in the night looking at what appeared to be an impossible sight. A man in black armor floating in the air after having busted through the roof of a shrine for Oyashiro the guardian god of Hinamizawa. Link stood now looking up at Gannondorf poised for another attack.

"Well Link," Gannondorf began with a smirk on his face, "Looks like you have made some new friends."

"Leave them out of this," Link shouted back.

"No need to worry," Gannondorf shouted, "I'll kill you first so that you don't have to see them suffer."

"Try it and you will pay dearly," Link replied.

"Let's see about that," Gannondorf laughed as he generated another dark energy ball.

Link stood at the ready to deflect another ball but Gannondorf quickly threw two. One was headed straight for Link and the other as Link followed the path with his eyes saw it headed straight for Satoko and Rika. Link quickly forgot about the first one and started to run towards Rika and Satoko after sheathing his sword. He ran with all his strength as fast as he could keeping an eye on the dark energy ball that he was in a race with. He could see that it was going to be close and looked at how close he was to Satoko and Rika. He flung himself at them shoving them out of the way just as the dark energy ball crashed into the ground creating a blinding light upon impact.

"Get out of here now," Link shouted at the others.

Just as they started to turn and run, suddenly a fire blocked their path. And looking around they could see that they were completely encircled by a huge fire. They noticed something strange about the fire. While they could feel the heat coming from it so they knew it was real the fire was not spreading to the trees and bushes that surrounded them.

"Why don't you stay and enjoy the fun," Gannondorf mocked as he slowly floated to the ground, "Now Link let's get this over with so that I can take over whatever world this is."

"Whatever you do," Link told the group," Stay away from us."

With this he turned and unsheathed the Master Sword and took out his Hylian Shield and began to walk towards Gannondorf who had already pulled out his two swords. The two of them began walking in a circular motion.

"How is it possible that you are able to have such power when the last time that I saw you were nearly dead because of the wounds that I inflicted on you during our last fight," Link questioned.

"Simple," Gannondorf began, "The shrine that you found me in held such darkness in it that it fueled me and I used that power to recover and now that I am fully recovered it has done nothing but make me stronger. You will not defeat me now."

"Wanna bet," Link replied as he lunged forward striking vertically.

Gannondorf swung both of his swords into a vertical position and blocked the attempted attack. He then pushed Link back. Link then attempted a thrust. Gannondorf swung one of his swords pushing the Master Sword away while swinging the other horizontally. Link ducked his head but could feel the air moving above his head as a _whoosh_ could be heard from the speed of the sword. Then Link pushed Gannondorf in the chest using the Hylian Shield so that way he could get some distance from him. As Gannondorf backed off he threw another dark energy ball at Link who then deflected it with his sword. Since Link had his attention on the dark energy ball he could not see Gannondorf rushing up to him and thrusting with one of his swords which Link used his shield to block. Gannon then used his other sword and thrust it at Link's head. Link moved his head to the side quickly but just barely as Gannondorf's sword shallowly cut his cheek which started to bleed a little. Link shoved Gannondorf away. Once Gannondorf had been shoved away Link put his hand up to his face to feel the wound. He could feel the warm blood running down his check but could tell that the wound was not very deep. He then noticed that Gannondorf was charging at him. Link quickly sidestepped the charge. Gannondorf turned around and swung one of his swords in a horizontal motion. Link deflected the attempted blow with his shield and noticed that Gannondorf was swinging the sword in his other hand. Link moved Master Sword and deflected it. Gannondorf then kicked Link in the stomach. Link fell backwards and landed on the ground then rolled out of the way as Gannondorf tried to deal a killing blow.

"Just like at the castle eh Link," Gannondorf laughed.

"It will have the same ending as then," Link replied, "Only this time I will finish what I started.

"You sure seem certain of yourself," Gannondorf replied, "But you forget one little weakness of yours."

"What are you talking about," Link asked.

"Them," Gannondorf replied as he sent another dark energy ball at Satoko and the others.

Link ran in their direction as fast as he could. This time he managed to get in front of them and use the Master Sword to deflect the dark energy ball to send it flying into the sky before exploding in a brilliant flash of light. Link looked around and noticed that they were standing close to a tree with a rather large trunk.

"Hide behind that tree," Link yelled.

The others nodded and started to run for the tree. Link ran with them his sword and shield at the ready. Gannondorf threw dark energy ball after dark energy ball at them. Link swung his sword deflecting every one of them. Once they got to the tree and were behind it Link moved around to the front of the tree and turned his head.

"Whatever you do," Link told them, "Do not move from where you are unless it is absolutely necessary or unless I tell you to."

They all nodded as Link turned and suddenly Gannondorf was right in his face. Before Link had time to react Gannondorf swung his sword and stabbed Link's shoulder.

"AHH," Link cried out in pain.

"Link," Satoko shouted as the others held on to her to keep her from getting around the tree they were hiding behind.

"You see Hero," Gannondorf sneered, "As long as you are so devoted to protecting people those people will be your weakness and they will ultimately be your downfall."

"You're wrong," Link replied trying to hold back the pain that was searing throughout his whole body.

"Really," Gannondorf replied, "Because that is what has gotten you into this situation and now you will die."

"That is not going to happen," Link stated, "You will die here and now."

Gannondorf tilted his head in confusion. Link then lifted both of his legs into the air and kicked Gannondorf in the chest pushing him backwards in an improvised dropkick. Link then grabbed the blade of the sword that had been stuck into his shoulder and with all of his strength pulled it out.

"AHHHHH," Link yelled as the sword came out of his shoulder dripping blood onto the ground and onto his tunic.

When he had gotten the sword out he tossed it to the ground. He slowly raised the arm that had been stabbed in the shoulder and prepared himself to fight once more. Gannondorf smiled and then laughed out loud.

"Now that's the Hero that I know," Gannondorf laughed, "And the one that I want to kill."

"The only one that will die tonight will be you Gannondorf," Link replied.

"Well then," Gannondorf said with a smile.

Just as he said this his other sword flew back into his free hand and both of the blades suddenly burst into blades covered in flame.

"Shall we find out," Gannondorf stated.

Gannondorf then lunged at Link swinging both of his swords down on Link. Link winced as he swung the Master Sword into a horizontal position. Link's foot stepped back as the twin blades of flame landed on the Master Sword. Link then started to push back and temporarily threw Gannondorf off balance but it was just long enough to create some distance between them. Link focused his energy as the Master Sword began to glow first blue then an orange color. When he could feel his hand begin to shake he lunged at Gannondorf and took a swing at his head. Gannondorf ducked it and turned around attempting to make a blow with one of his swords. Link raised the Hylian shield and blocked it. Gannondorf then jabbed with the sword in his free hand. Link used the Master Sword to draw it to the side some but not quite enough as the flaming sword slightly cut into Link's side. Link shoved the sword away and then shoved Gannondorf away. When there was distance between them again Link fell onto one knee. Link looked up at Gannondorf trying to focus the world that was now spinning because of the searing pain in his side.

"You see Hero," Gannondorf shouted, "My power can overcome your courage."

"You still don't understand," Link replied as he shakily got up to his feet.

"What," Gannondorf replied, "You're beaten."

"You may think that your power can overcome my courage but," Link started to answer.

Gannondorf looked somewhat annoyed but was surprised when Link charged at him and swung the Master Sword which simultaneously burst into an orange glow of energy as it knocked the flaming swords out of Gannondorf's hands. Link then thrust the Master Sword deep into Gannondorf's chest.

"You forget that," Link began, "It is because of the people that I defend that I have courage, and it is for that reason that my courage can not only stand up to your power but I can beat it!"

Link then quickly took the Master Sword out of Gannondorf and swung at his neck severing his head. All of time and space seemed to stand still as Gannondorf's head flew into the air and nothing could be heard except Gannondorf's head hitting the ground and then his body falling to the ground.

"We won," Link stated as he looked down on the lifeless corpse of the King of Evil.

Link felt his legs shaking and then fell onto his knees. He then noticed that the fire that had surrounded them had disappeared. The heat had subsided and the roaring of the fire that his friends and himself were encircled in but now Link could only hear one sound, the sound of his friends running over to him. He turned his head and saw Satoko out in front of everyone. Satoko reached Link first and gave him a big hug. Link returned the hug but winced as he moved his wounded shoulder.

"You did it," Satoko cried, "We were so worried."

Link looked around and saw the concerned faces of everyone around him as well as the relief in their eyes. Link smiled at them and slowly let go of Satoko and got onto his feet. At once everyone helped him stand up.

"Rena go get some help," Keiichi told her.

Rena nodded her head and started to run off to go get help but then stopped in her tracks. Everyone turned to look at her.

"What's wrong," Mion called after her.

"Quiet," Rena replied, "Can you hear that?"

Everyone went silent and then they heard a strange noise. Link was quite for a minute and then recognized the sound that Rena was talking about.

"Take me to that sound," Link told the others.

"But you're hurt very badly," Rika started.

"I'll be fine," Link responded, "Just get me there."

Everyone then went around Link and helped support him as they moved him in the direction of the sound. As they started to get closer and closer they were able to hear a voice as well as the unusual sound.

"Link," the voice called, "Are you there?"

The voice got louder and louder as the group got closer and closer. When they got to the source of the noises they were surprised at what they saw. There was this big circle that was glowing a bright blue color. Standing in front of it was a tall beautiful woman with long blonde hair. She was wearing a dress that had a picture of a big triangle with an upside down triangle in the middle and above it was what looked like an eagle. Her ears were very pointed and her eyes were as blue as the ocean. She turned her head when the group approached her.

"Link," she stated as she ran over to the group.

"Who are you," Satoko asked.

"My name is Zelda," she answered, "I am the Princess of Hyrule."

Everyone stood there with their mouths open at what they had just heard. Link smiled as he looked at the princess.

"How did you get here Zelda," Link asked.

"Link," she replied looking at Link as her eyes went wide, "What happened to you?"

"I just had a little run in with Gannondorf," Link answered.

"Where is he," Zelda asked.

"Don't worry," Link answered, "He is not going to be bothering anyone anytime soon."

Link looked as Zelda quickly analyzed the situation and then a smile came to her face. She quickly hugged Link who squinted from the pain he felt from his shoulder and his side. Noticing it Zelda quickly jumped back.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "You must come with me quickly so that way we can get you back to Hyrule and get you healed."

"You mean that Link has to leave," Satoko stated with a saddened face.

"I am sorry," Zelda replied as she approached the group of friends, "But the kingdom of Hyrule needs Link to defend it from all sorts of evil forces."

"B-B-But," Satoko stammered.

"I am sorry," Zelda began, "But I hope that you understand that Hyrule is where Link needs to be."

"She is right Satoko," Link replied, "It is my duty to defend the people of Hyrule so I must go back."

Link walked over to Satoko and got down on one knee. He looked her in the eyes and patted her head.

"It'll be okay," Link told her, "It is what needs to happen."

"But," Satoko began, "Everything at home was going great and with you there it was starting to feel like my brother had finally come back to me."

"Satoko," Link started as he put a hand on her shoulder, "The way that you have been able to go on without your brother is much braver and much more courageous than anything that I have ever done and I am positive that one day your brother will return to you proud to have such a strong and brave sister."

Link saw Satoko's eyes begin to fill with tears as she hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her as he returned the hug. He then looked up to everyone that was around him.

"I will never forget any of you," Link told them, "All of you helped me in ways that I cannot even begin to describe."

"We will never forget you either Link," Keiichi replied, "Isn't that right?"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Link smiled and then turned his head back to Satoko. He gently moved her to stand in front of him as he reached into his tunic and found one of the pockets that were on the inside where he kept his most important items. He pulled out the first ocarina that he had received from his close friend Saria at the Kokiri Forest before he left for his adventure.

"Satoko," Link began, "I want you to have this."

"What is it," Satoko asked as Link handed it to her.

"It is an ocarina," Link replied, "It was given to me by a friend a long time ago as a sign of our friendship and now I want you to have it."

"Thank you," Satoko managed to say through her tears, "But how do I use it?"

"I will show you," Link answered as he reached into his tunic again and produced the Ocarina of Time.

Everyone looked in silence at the instrument which seemed to have a blue glow to it. Link put the Ocarina of Time to his lips and slowly began to blow and play it. The sound that came out floated in the air and around the trees. Keiichi and the rest of the group felt a calmness at hearing the notes that flowed from the instrument.

"Now Satoko," Link started, "I want you to pay attention to the way that I move my fingers over the holes now because I am going to teach you the very first song that I ever learned to play on the ocarina that I gave to you."

Satoko nodded her head and put the ocarina up to her mouth. Soon Link began to play and Satoko followed the movements of his fingers and she too began to play and copy the exact same movements that Link was making and soon the two of them were playing a melody that seemed to relieve them all of their weariness. Zelda was the only one aside from Link to recognize the tune that was being played; she remembered how it used to be played for her when she was a baby and how it always put her at ease which is what allowed her to fall asleep. They played the tune through and when they were done Link put down the Ocarina of Time.

"Very good," Link said with a smile.

"That was a beautiful melody," Satoko replied, "What is it?"

"The tune that we just played is one that was played for the princess as a lullaby when she was a baby," Link answered, "So I guess you could call it Zelda's Lullaby."

"Link," Zelda started, "It is time to go. Do you need help getting up?"

"No thank you," Link replied.

Link stood up and bade farewell to every one of his new friends. He followed Zelda to the portal and Zelda went through first and disappeared. Link stood in front of the portal and stopped. He turned around and took one look back at his new friends.

"Goodbye everyone," Link manage to say despite holding back tears of his own.

Link then turned around and walked into the portal. After he had gone through the portal it sealed itself and then disappeared. After it disappeared there was nothing but silence filling the air. Satoko stood there for a long time in silence before saying anything then she spoke.

"Nii-Nii," Satoko said with tears running down her cheeks.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for not posting this sooner but since classes started I have been rather busy and my laptop was having some issues so I had to take it in to get the problem solved which has kept me from getting typing done. But I hope that you will read, review and most importantly enjoy.

**Chapter 11**

Link felt himself flying through the portal and once again had to close his eyes for the spinning feeling that he got while going through it. The feeling quickly subsided as suddenly there was a bright white light at the end and Link felt himself fall through it. He felt cold as he slowly opened his eyes and found himself on the stone floor of the Temple of Time. His vision was still coming into focus when he tried to get up. The pain in his shoulder and side made him quickly drop to one knee as he tried to get up rather quickly. He then felt hands on him helping him up.

"Be careful," he could hear the princess say, "We must get him to the fairy fountain as quickly as possible."

Link then felt himself being very carefully moved. When they went out of the temple Link quickly closed his eyes from the brightness and then blinked several times as his eyes adjusted. They quickly brought him through the market and to just outside the castle which now was as he remembered it all those years ago. There was a garden with flowers out front and the castle itself shined in the sun with all of its windows reflecting the sun. There was the little stream that went around the castle running smoothly. Link then noticed that they were at the gate and Link couldn't help but smile remembering how when he was younger had managed to sneak into the castle completely undetected and in broad daylight no less. After they were done talking with the guard at the front of the gate they made their way on through and went through on the dirt road and took a turn that led away from the castle. Link remembered this turn as he took it to the place where he had received Din's fire. When they got to the wall that was formed by the hill there was what looked like a cave. They went into it and were for the most part in complete darkness except for the visible torches at the end. Once they got to the end the dirt turned to a stone floor which led to a fountain with two torches at both sides lighting the room. The stone floor as it grew up to the fountain had steps and at the top of the steps there was a space with a gold Triforce symbol on it.

"Bring him before the fountain," Zelda told the men that were helping Link stand.

They carefully and slowly brought Link forward and up the steps onto the golden Triforce that was on the stone. Link then heard Zelda's footsteps walking up to him.

"Link will you give me the ocarina," Zelda asked.

Link nodded his head and reached into his tunic and took out the Ocarina of Time. He placed it in the hands of the princess. She then put the ocarina to her lips and began to play the tune that was once her lullaby. When she had finished there was a short silence that ended when a woman's laughter could be heard filling the room. Suddenly a woman appeared out of the fountain with long hair and vines with golden leaves encasing her body. She looked at the princess and Link.

"Great Fairy of Magic," Zelda started, "The Hero of Time has returned from his quest and needs your aid to heal his wounds."

The fairy nodded and then turned her attention to Link.

"I will now heal you of your weariness," the Great Fairy said.

Link could hear a strange noise and noticed that he was surrounded by a green circle. He felt something rather strange. Link then felt his body become weightless as he looked down and saw that he was floating. He looked up and saw that what seemed like a ray of light was coming down on him and completely surrounding him. With this light he felt a strange sort of energy fill him. Then he noticed that the cut on his cheek had started to close. After that he noticed the wound on his shoulder begin to heal and the blood that was on his tunic disappeared and the cut on his side closed and disappeared. After this sensation was done going over him he slowly lowered to the ground and was now standing on his own two feet although still weak from the experience. Link looked up and saw the Great Fairy smiling back at him.

"Remember Link," the fairy began, "Us fairies will help you when you are weary."

"I will," Link nodded his head in response, "Thank you."

The fairy then began to shrink in size. When suddenly there was a bright light and then they were left in the room and there was silence. Zelda then turned to Link.

"How are you feeling," she asked.

"Better," Link answered, "But still a little light-headed."

"We shall send you back to your home in the Kokiri Forest," Zelda responded, "You can rest and when you wake up I will need to speak with you at the castle."

Link nodded as he slowly made his way through the cave putting his hand on the wall for support. When he got outside he put his hand up shielding his eyes from the bright light of the sun that was shining in his face. He walked down the hill and back into the marketplace where people greeted him with cheers and started to surround him. He smiled at them as he slowly made his way through the crowd the occasional person patting him on the back. When he got to the draw bridge that surrounded the marketplace he saw Epona standing there waiting for him. He smiled as he walked up to the horse which seemed rather happy to see him for as he started walking in her direction she galloped over to him. He put his hand on her head and started to rub it.

"I've missed you too," Link stated as he slowly got onto the horse.

He turned Epona around and started to ride in the direction of his home. When he got there he got off and walked through the tunnel-like entrance. He crossed the bridge that led through the Lost Woods and back through another entrance and found himself in the forest that he had known all of his life. He walked over to where his tree house was and slowly climbed the ladder. When he got into his old home he took off the Hylian Shield and the Master Sword and leaned them up against the wall as he climbed into his bed. His thoughts were still on Hinamizawa and the friends that he had left there as he slowly fell asleep.

When he awoke he could feel the sunlight shining in through the window that he had in his home. He sat up stretched and then got up to make himself something to eat quickly. As he was doing so his mind wandered back to when he would help Satoko and Rika with making the meals and setting the table. He could feel his eyes start to water with tears as he tried to blink them away and then used the back of his hand to wipe away the tears. After having a meal he got out of his house and climbed down and exited the forest. He then saw Epona still waiting for him outside.

"Good girl," Link stated as he fed her a carrot.

"When Epona was done with it he quickly got on and rode in the direction of Hyrule. It was not long before he found himself in front of the drawbridge that led into the marketplace. He dismounted and started to walk forward into the town. When he got into the marketplace he saw that it was as busy as it always used to be and moved through the crowds to the castle. When he got there he went through the gate.

"Where is the princess," Link asked.

"She is waiting for you in the throne room," the guard replied.

Link thanked him and went on his way into the castle through the big doors. He continued on through the castle which had chandeliers with candlesticks hanging from the ceiling. There were big marble pillars that surrounded the royal garden that held a wide variety of flowers and other plants. He continued through the castle that had guards posted at various positions. He followed the corridors until he came to the entrance to the throne room. The throne room was probably the most lavishly decorated room in the entire castle. In the middle of the room a long red carpet led up to the stairs that stopped before the king's throne. Behind the throne hung a large tapestry with the eagle with its wings spread perched on the top of the Triforce. The walls held large stain glass windows which the sun shone through and painted the floor a myriad of colors. As with the rest of the rooms in the castle golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Due to the fact that this was the throne room there were more armed guards posted here than in most other areas of the castle. As Link walked up to the king's throne which was sculpted out of marble he looked around continuing to take in the sight that was now before him. He looked ahead and saw that Zelda was sitting in the throne as he approached. He stopped before the steps that led up to the throne and got down on one knee and bowed his head.

"Princess," Link started, "You wanted to see me."

"Yes Link," Zelda replied motioning for Link to stand, "We need your help."

"What is it," Link asked as he stood up.

"We have been having some problems since we have managed to restore Hyrule to what it once was after Gannondorf left," Zelda started, "To have been able to bring everything back to normal was a very difficult task as well as one that was very expensive."

"I see," Link replied, "So a lot of things have had to be restored. Go on."

"We have been using the Lon Lon Ranch for bringing in supplies since they have a large amount of horses ready for transporting the supplies that we need," Zelda continued, "Talon was very happy to help us and did not ask for much. But since Gannondorf had left our supplies that were being brought here on wagons have fallen under attack by the Gerudos. Talon was killed in one such incident and Ingo has since taken over the ranch."

"So you want me to go to the Gerudo Fortress to deal with them," Link asked.

"No," Zelda replied, "My father has taken his best soldiers to the Gerudos to try and get them to stop. He is there just to talk with them but he brought his soldiers along just in case things would break down and become violent. While he is gone he has left me in charge of the kingdom."

"What do you need me for then," Link questioned.

"I know that it will sound like something that you should not have to do Link," Zelda started, "But since Ingo has taken over the ranch he has demanded that we pay him some very excessive prices for the things that he supplies us with and it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to pay him because of the money that was spent on restoring Hyrule."

"So you want me to go and talk with him and get him to stop price gouging," Link replied.

"Yes," Zelda answered, "I know that such a task seems menial and should be done by the soldiers but I think that this course of action is best in case the talks with the Gerudos break down and we need to resort to military action in which instance we will need all the soldiers that we have and would most likely need your help as well."

"I understand Princess," Link replied, "I don't mind, it will be a nice break after having had to deal with Gannondorf."

"We really appreciate it Link," Zelda answered, "We have been trying to make Ingo happy but he keeps demanding that we pay him more money and that if we don't then he will cut off the things that he is supplying us with."

"I understand," Link started, "But what about Malon shouldn't she be in charge of the ranch instead of Ingo?"

"Naturally that is what would happen but while Malon was mourning the loss of her father Ingo forcefully took control of the ranch," Zelda responded.

"Why didn't Malon do something about it," Link questioned.

"We don't know but I have grown considerably worried about her since she is rarely seen coming to the market now," Zelda answered, "I fear that Ingo might have something to do with that and that he might be physically abusing her since she is always wearing long sleeves even on the hottest of days."

Link froze as he remembered what Rika had told him about Satoko's past and the way in which her uncle treated her and her brother after their parents had died in an accident that was considered to be part of Oyashiro's curse. He suddenly felt a surge of anger pass over him at the thought of something happening to one of his closest friends. He clenched his fists in anger as he looked up at the princess.

"Have you done anything," Link asked.

"I am afraid that I cannot do anything about it Link," Zelda replied, "It is only a suspicion and there is no real proof that he is actually abusing her and Malon avoids talking about what happens at Lon Lon Ranch as if it were some sort of plague, and without her telling us that there is something going on then we have nothing that we can do to arrest Ingo or anything."

Once again Link was stunned by how similar this situation was to the one that Rika had described with Satoko and her uncle after the death of her parents. His mind raced to find a solution and then he came up with a possible answer.

"What about the way that he is holding Hyrule hostage by threatening to cut off your supplies," Link asked.

"That was the first thing that we told him when he started being so unreasonable and started to demand higher prices," Zelda began, "He told us that doing so would cut us off from our supplies because he was never going to give control of the ranch over to Malon."

"I will talk to Ingo about the prices and while I am there I will look in on Malon and see if I can't get her to tell me about it and if possible get her to say whether or not Ingo has been abusing her," Link replied.

"Thank you Link," Zelda replied, "Now you must go. It is getting late."

Link looked at the window and noticed that it was getting a little darker as well and also noticed that there were more clouds in the sky and that a good rain had started to come down. He turned to the princess bowed and exited the castle. He walked down through an empty marketplace and across the bridge that closed not long after he had exited it. He walked up to Epona and just as he was about to mount the horse he paused. Even though it was raining he heard something. _Squish squish._ It sounded like footsteps in the wet grass. As he listened he noticed that they were getting louder which meant that they were getting closer. _Squish squish._ It now sounded like they were directly behind him. Link whirled around to see who it was and was shocked when he saw that there was no one there. He looked around rather quickly and noticed that there was nobody else around except for him and Epona. He quickly mounted Epona and started to ride back towards the Kokiri Forest but as he rode he could have sworn that there was someone close by watching him.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello again. I am terribly sorry for not posting a chapter in such a long time but I have been very busy with the finals at college and there are some things at home that had to be done and there are other matters that I am currently having to deal with at the moment that draw me away from writing. I thank all of you for your patience and I hope that you will continue to read, review, and most importantly enjoy.

**Chapter 12**

Link walked up to his tree house and climbed up the ladder to his room. He lit some candles and began to put his stuff down. After setting the Master Sword and Hylian Shield down he found some food and made himself a small meal. When he was finished he cleaned it up and brought the candle over to his bed and set it on a stand, laid down and blew it out. Darkness encompassed the room as he closed his eyes and he fell asleep.

As he slept Link began to get very restless as he started to toss and turn in his bed. Suddenly Link felt a small wind blow into his ear. Link woke up and walked over to the entrance to the tree house that he lived in. Much to Link's surprise the weather was very calm and there was no breeze blowing. _What did I feel then_, Link thought. He turned around and walked back into the tree house and fell asleep. Hours later Link could feel the sun entering in through the windows and woke up. He blinked several times letting his eyes adjust to the light and got out of his bed. He made himself a quick meal and left. After he exited the Kokiri Forest he got onto Epona and rode off in the direction of the Lon Lon Ranch. When he found himself in front of the entrance he rode Epona up the hill and into the ranch. Link dismounted Epona and looked around for Ingo so he could talk to him. When he could not see where Ingo was he went over to the home that Talon had been living in and started to knock.

"Who is it," a voice from inside asked.

"It is Link," Link answered, "Sent here from Hyrule to talk to Ingo."

Link waited as the door opened and he saw Ingo standing on the other side of the door. He was wearing overalls over an old dirty shirt. His hair was brown and messy as were his heavy eyebrows and mustache. Link waited as Ingo stepped outside and shut the door behind him.

"What is all of this about," Ingo asked rather annoyed.

"I think you know the answer to that question," Link replied, "I am here to talk to you about what you have been doing with Hyrule."

"What I have been doing with Hyrule is simply making the best situation for myself given the circumstances," Ingo stated.

"What you are doing is extorting the kingdom of Hyrule," Link replied, "What you're doing is very low."

"You see that is where you are wrong," Ingo said.

"How so," Link asked crossing his arms.

"What I am doing is smart," Ingo answered, "I am in the perfect situation. A kingdom that needs supplies to rebuild itself and the closest source of supplies is here and there are supplies that they cannot afford to go without which means that they will pay whatever they need or they will not get the supplies that they desperately need which means that I can set the prices as high as I want and they have to pay or otherwise they will run out of their precious supplies."

"That is not being smart," Link replied, "That is being opportunistic trash and in the end it will backfire on you."

"How," Ingo laughed.

"When they have all the supplies that they need they will have no more need for you and when that happens they will come here take you, arrest you, and give you the punishment that you deserve for this atrocious act," Link answered.

"I am the one who determines how fast that growth and recovery is because if they were to get supplies from someone else then they would have to go even further away from here which means that it would take longer and the risk of getting attacked by the Gerudos is even greater because of the longer distance," Ingo replied.

"Then what you can do is to find a price that is both reasonable for the kingdom to pay and profitable for you," Link told him.

"What do you think I am doing," Ingo laughed.

Link was quickly losing his patience with Ingo when they both heard a noise. They heard a door squeaking open and the both turned to look at who it was and the saw Malon going out of the barn. She was wearing old work clothes that were very dirty. She kept her eyes down. In both of her hands she was carrying some very heavy looking buckets of milk.

"Hurry it up you useless girl," Ingo yelled at Malon when he saw her coming out of the barn.

Malon nodded slowly as she went on with her work.

"Is that really necessary," Link asked.

"Is what really necessary," Ingo replied.

"Treating Malon like that," Link answered, "She has been through a lot and you just stand there yelling at her."

"She does what I say or else she has no home to go to," Ingo replied, "That is just how it works and quite frankly it is none of your damn business."

Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise and both Link and Ingo turned to see what it was. They saw Malon on the ground after having tripped and fell over because of the weight of the milk cans being too much for her to carry.

"You stupid bitch," Ingo yelled as he went forward, "Look at this mess that you have made. Clean it up and get some more and try not to spill it this time."

Malon slowly stood up and started to walk away. Link got a look at her face which was very dirty and Link could see the tears that were flowing down her cheeks as she kept her head down and walked into the barn.

"You go back and tell that Royal Family that they better stop worrying about what I am doing here and should start worrying about the bigger things such as the Gerudos because if I am going to be delivering these supplies then I am not going to do it cheap when my life could be in danger," Ingo stated turning towards Link.

"You are in no danger," Link snapped back, "You were a supporter of Gannondorf so they would not attack you."

"Not necessarily besides maybe they should not have been spending all that money on restoring just the castle and all the perks of their position," Ingo replied, "They are just getting something that's been coming to them."

"You are robbing the people of Hyrule as well," Link answered, "You are playing with them like a puppeteer."

"Their problems are not my problems," Ingo stated, "Now get out of here before you try my patience any further."

"You will see me again," Link replied, "I can promise you that."

Link left for Hyrule and once he got there he went to the castle and the guards let him in. He found his way to the throne room where he saw Zelda sitting on the throne. He approached the throne and then stopped before it and knelt until Zelda motioned for him to stand up.

"I have just come here to inform you of the situation at the Lon Lon Ranch," Link started.

"Go on," Zelda replied.

Link proceeded to tell the princess everything that had taken place at the ranch when he had gone to visit from the way that Ingo described what he thought about the situation to the incident that had occurred with Malon and the milk. When he had finished he stood there quietly waiting for what the princess had to say.

"Link," she started, "We must not give up. I want you to keep going there until we can get a good handle on this situation."

"Understood," Link replied.

After the meeting was over Link turned around and left the castle and headed for home. By the time that he stood outside the Kokiri Forest it was already dark outside. He moved into the forest and climbed the tree that he had built his home in and went to sleep. While Link was sleeping he started to toss and turn and when Link opened his eyes he lay still in his bed. All was quiet until suddenly Link heard the whistling sound that he had heard the previous night but this time it was different, this time it was saying something.

"_Link_," the whistling voice began to say.

Link immediately lit a candle and grabbed the Master Sword and looked around his room. All he saw was the same things that had always been there. Link then went outside and looked around. After a very careful and thorough search Link could not find a single thing that pointed to someone sneaking around the house or going up into it. Link then went back into his house and tried to lay down for some sleep but found that he could not sleep and lay there awake until dawn. When the sun started to fill the room Link got up and headed out rubbing his eyes and yawning. He grabbed his sword and shield and headed out to the ranch. When he got there Ingo was just getting out and he could see that Malon was out feeding the horses. Her bloodshot eyes and messy hair showed that she had been up for much longer than Ingo was. Ingo looked at Link and spat into the grass.

"What do you want," Ingo asked as he rolled his eyes at Link.

"I am here to talk to you about lowering those prices that are hurting Hyrule," Link replied.

"Not happening," Ingo replied.

Link could feel that this was going to be very difficult as he continued to tell him that he should lower his prices. Link argued with him until the midafternoon in which he left to go tell the princess. By the time that he had gotten done with that he headed for home. When he got off of Epona outside the forest he heard the voice again.

"_You could kill him,"_ the voice told him.

"Who are you," Link asked.

"_You know," _the voice replied.

"No I don't," Link answered.

"_You will soon enough_," the voice answered, "_Kill him._"

"NO," Link shouted as he put his hands over his ears.

Link lowered his hands looking around and noticed that he was the only one there. _Who was that or what was that,_ Link thought. He entered into the house and slowly lowered himself onto the bed. He let out a sigh as he sat on the bed tired from the day that he had with trying to deal with Ingo. He contemplated how he would be able to get Ingo to lower his prices to something that would be both beneficial for him and the kingdom of Hyrule. He soon found it hard to keep his eyes open and started to fall asleep.

"_Link_," the voice came.

Link's eyes shot open and looked around the room. Link though that he would have a heart attack when he saw to big glowing red circles staring at him from the foot end of his bed. Link rapidly lit a candle and unsheathed the Master Sword and looked around the room and was shocked to discover that the two lights were no longer there and there was no noise of anyone running away. Link took another look around the house and then went back in to bed. He sheathed his sword and blew out the candle then when he climbed into bed he broke into a cold sweat as he looked up and saw the two red glowing eyes staring at him again.

"_Kill him_," the voice stated.

"No," Link answered immediately.

"_Kill him_," the voice repeated.

"No," Link answered.

"_KILL HIM! KILL HIM! KILL HIM,_" the voice shouted over and over.

Link curled up into a ball and put his hands over his ears as the voice grew louder and louder. _Why isn't anybody else hearing this_, Link thought as his eyes grew wide and darted around the room quickly expecting to see someone coming in to tell him to stop making all the noise but not a soul showed up and the voice kept yelling and demanding. Before Link knew it the sun started to fill his room and the voice had started to recede to a murmur. Link rubbed his eyes and got himself something to eat. He slowly got out of his house and stood looking around the forest he headed toward the ladder and when his foot came down he slipped and he immediately grabbed onto the little fence that went around the outside of his home. _I'll try to go and talk to Malon today_, Link thought. He stepped outside and Epona seemed to be a little nervous as Link got onto the horse.

"It's okay," Link told the horse, "I just did not sleep well is all."

Link rode off towards the ranch and when he got there he dismounted and headed up the path. Link let out a sigh of relief since Ingo was not around. He saw Malon heading out towards the area where they let the horses run around. Link started to walk over to her. When Link got there she was feeding a large, strong looking brown horse with some oats that she had in her hands. Her eyes looked calm and at peace but most of all the looked very tired. Link took a step and Malon immediately turned in his direction looking scared.

"Malon," Link began, "It's okay, it's me."

Malon's shoulders dropped as she let out a sigh of relief and put a hand over her heart.

"You scared me Link," she replied with a soft voice.

"Sorry," Link apologized," I didn't mean to."

She nodded and smiled a little sad smile. Link walked over to her and rubbed the head of the horse that she was feeding.

"How are you holding up," Link asked.

"Okay," Malon replied.

"I heard about your father," Link started, "I'm really sorry."

"Thanks," Malon replied.

"I want to ask you something," Link stated.

"What," Malon questioned.

"Has Ingo been hurting you," Link asked.

Malon's faced turned to one that was of surprise as her eyes widened and she actually took a step back.

"W-W-What do you mean," Malon questioned.

"If he is then we can help," Link started, "We can have Ingo arrested and you can be put in charge of the ranch like your father would have wanted, but you need to say that he is the one who is abusing you."

She quickly put her hands over her ears and started to shake her head violently.

"No," she stated, "No, no no no."

"Come and let us help you," Link pleaded.

"No," Malon repeated, "You must leave."

"But-," Link started.

"Leave now," Malon practically shouted at Link.

Suddenly Link heard the doors of the house behind him open. He turned to see a very angry looking Ingo stepping out of the house.

"What the hell is the racket at this time in the morning," Ingo shouted, "Girl if you don't shut up I will shut you up and you will never say another word again. Now get back to work."

Malon quickly nodded her head and ran off and into the barn. Link turned to Ingo furious at what was unfolding before him.

"And as for you," Ingo still shouting pointed at Link, "Get the hell off of my land before you regret it."

Link slowly walked out of the ranch and got onto Epona and rode away. Link could feel his heart beating rapidly and his face growing red from the anger that he was feeling. He even started to breath heavier from the anger that he was feeling when suddenly the voice returned to him.

"_See_," it began, "_If you want the people and that girl to be happy you must kill him_."

Link was so tired that he didn't say anything. The voice continued to speak even though there was nobody there but Link.

"_You killed another man to save people why is this so different_," the voice began, "_What good is a hero if he cannot protect one innocent girl._"

By now Link was outside of Kokiri Forest and he immediately dismounted and ran into the forest with his hands over his ears while the voice continued to mock him.

"_You're no hero_," the voice mocked, "_Can't even save an innocent girl._"

Link climbed up the ladder to his house.

"_Kill him," _the voice stated.

"No," Link replied.

"_If you don't kill him then they will continue to suffer_," the voice jeered, "_And it will be all your fault because you knew and yet you did nothing_."

"I'll find a way," Link shakily replied.

"_There is no other way_," the voice answered, "_Kill him. Kill him. Kill him."_

"Fine," Link shouted as he dropped to his knees in his home and began to sob, "I'll do it."

He looked around as the voice left and began to take off the Golden Gauntlets that were on his hand. After he had taken them off he reached back to grab the Master Sword, but when his hands made contact with the hilt of the sword a stinging sensation went through his hand and eventually his whole arm felt like it was burning. Link let go and unstrapped the sword and shield from his back. After they landed on the floor he kicked them aside as he looked down at his hand and his eyes widened. There was a red burn across his hand where it had made contact with the hilt of the sword. He rushed over to his chest where he kept the things that he did not take with him. He rummaged around until he grabbed the handle of what he was looking for. He very slowly lifted the Megnaton Hammer out of the chest. _This'll work_," Link thought as he propped it up against the wall, he then turned and grabbed a big bag full of rupees in it and set it by the hammer. He then blew out the candles that lit the room and lie down in bed and saw that once again the two red eyes were there. He pulled the covers up to his chin as the voice returned repeating the words 'Kill him' as Link lay sleepless for another night.

When morning came Link sat up in his bed his eyes were bloodshot and his movements slow. He looked like a zombie when he shambled out of bed. His movements were slow and his mind focused on one thing. _If I can't negotiate with Ingo and Malon will not let me help her, this is the only course of action, _Link thought, _if anyone asks what happens it can always be said that a gang of Gerudo attacked him_. Link smiled as he thought of his plan and then grabbed something to eat. As he left he grabbed the bag that held the rupees that he had kept in case he would need to go back to his home to get some more. When he got outside he got onto Epona and rode toward the Lon Lon Ranch. When he got there he dismounted and tried to shake of the tiredness that he was feeling. He slowly walked into the ranch. When he got there he could see that Ingo was not yet out so he walked up to the house. He knocked on the door several times before the door opened up.

"What do you want now," Ingo started looking rather annoyed, "I'm telling you that I am not going to lower the prices that the kingdom of Hyrule has to pay to receive shipments of supplies."

"That is not why I am here," Link replied.

"Then what do you want," Ingo asked as he eyed Link up and down.

"I am here to tell you that the kingdom of Hyrule needs an emergency shipment of supplies that needs to be delivered tonight," Link answered.

"They will have to pay extra since this is so unexpected," Ingo answered.

"That is understood," Link replied as he handed him the bag of rupees, "There is 500 rupees in this bag and you will be given much more for the delivery tonight."

Link stood there and waited for Ingo to answer. Link watched as he looked through the bag and think. After a little while Ingo gave his answer.

"Fine," Ingo began, "I'll do it, but the rest of the payment is going to have to be much more than a measly 500 rupees."

Link nodded as turned around and left. He rushed to the forest and grabbed the Megnaton Hammer from his room and went back into Hylian Field. Link looked around and saw a very big rock Link went over to it and using the Golden Gauntlets lifted it up. Link saw a hole where he could fall down. Link smiled as he turned to the trail that led from the Lon Lon Ranch to the kingdom of Hyrule. He walked over to what he thought was a good distance and pulled out the Megnaton Hammer and with the pointed end started to make a hole that the wheels of the wagon that he would be taking would hit. After a while he had the hole made and ran behind the rock and waited. After several hours it began to rain and soon it started thundering and lightening. Link was getting soaked but he remained hidden behind the rock unmoving. Soon Link though that he could start to see a silhouette in the distance. He could hear the sound of horses and wooden wheels and Ingo cursing the weather. Link watched as it became closer and Link could see the lanterns that were on the side of the cart to help light the way. He looked on as Ingo came closer and closer to the hole that Link had made. Soon there was a loud _CRASH _and the horses could be heard making noise. Ingo could be heard cursing very loudly as he got off of the spot where he steered the horses. Ingo grabbed a lantern to help him see. Link then pulled out the Megnaton Hammer and rushed up to the wreck. He stopped behind Ingo who was looking to see if any of the crates had fallen off. When Link stopped behind Ingo, Ingo turned around. When Ingo turned around to face Link he was surprised at what he saw. Link's eyes were filled with a burning fury that would scare off the worst of monsters and he seemed to be breathing heavily. Then he noticed the hammer in Link's hand. Link then swung and hit Ingo square in the head sending him to the ground Ingo's head now covered in blood from where the hammer hit. He started to crawl away and then Link swung with all his might and landed a heavy blow to one of his legs which let out a loud crack indicated that the bone had been broken.

"AAAAAH," Ingo yelled out in pain.

Link then swung and hit one of Ingo's arms and crushed the bone. He flipped Ingo over and looked at the terrified expression on his face. Ingo's eyes were wide and even though it was raining it was clear that he was sweating terrified.

"Please don't kill me," Ingo pleaded.

Link lifted the hammer over his head oblivious to the pleas of Ingo. Link held the hammer over his head with both hands and then quickly swung it down onto Ingo's torso. The second that the hammer hit Ingo started to spit up blood indicating that he was bleeding internally. Link then looked at his face and by this point Ingo was in tears pleading for his life.

"Please don't kill me," Ingo pleaded, "I'll do whatever you want, I'll lower my prices and give Malon ownership of the ranch. I-I-I'll disappear and never bother Hyrule again. Don't kill me PLEASE!"

Ingo's life was something that Link had decided he would not let Ingo have as he swung the hammer down one last time crushing Ingo's face sending blood flying into the air. Link continued to hammer Ingo's face into the ground like a man possessed until he stopped for air and took a good look at what he had just done. Ingo was no longer recognizable, his face a bloody mess with one of his eyes now resting on his cheek. Teeth were missing from Ingo's mouth, his hair was soaked in his own blood, his nose practically pushed back into his skull and the rest of his face was nothing more than a bloody puddle. Link quickly drug the body over to the rock that he was hiding behind and lifted the rock up and set it to the side as he dropped the body down the hole that was being covered up he then went back to the cart and grabbed all the crates that were being 'delivered' and dropped them into the hole before putting the rock back on top of the hole. Link then cut the horses loose and when cut loose they took off running. Link grabbed a hold of the empty cart and brought it over to the bridge that crossed into the Gerudo territory and shoved it off of the edge. Link then went to the stream that flowed out of Hyrule and put his hands and the Megnaton Hammer into the water in order to wash the blood off. He went over to where he had hid Epona and mounted her and started to ride off. As he was riding he heard footsteps behind him, by now the rain had ceased and all was quiet so Link stopped Epona. Looking around he saw no one and then rode on knowing that the footsteps belonged to the voice that he has been hearing.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Link rode back to the forest and got off of Epona and entered into the forest. He found his house in the dark and climbed up the ladder and into the room. Slowly taking off the equipment that he had brought with him to take care of Ingo. He walked over to a mirror that was in his room and started to smile. _I did it,_ Link thought, _I have saved Malon from that brute Ingo_. He walked over to his bed and lay down. Link closed his eyes and drifted off into a very heavy sleep.

The warmth of the sun shining in through the windows caused Link to wake up. He slowly got up and grabbed his shield and the Megnaton Hammer and strapped it onto his back. He exited the house and climbed down and headed out to where Epona was waiting for him. He started to ride off in the direction of the ranch when he had heard his name.

"Link," the voice called.

Link turned around thinking that this was the voice that he had started to hear, the one that had told him to kill Ingo. Upon looking around he saw a guard on horseback coming his way.

"Link," the guard called.

Link headed off in the direction of the guard and brought Epona to a halt as he listened to what the guard had to say.

"The princess would like to have a word with you," the guard told him and then rode back in the direction of Hyrule.

Link's heart started to race, his eyes were growing wide and his hands were starting to shake. _They've found out about what I did to Ingo,_ Link thought, _they are going to have my head_. Link slowly rode in the direction of Hyrule. When he got to the drawbridge he dismounted Epona and began walking to the castle. Link walked in to the throne room and with his heart still beating he kneeled in front of the princess until she told him to stand.

"What is it that you need princess," Link asked trying to keep his voice under control.

"I just wanted to ask you how the dealings with Ingo are going," Zelda asked.

"He is stubborn princess," Link replied, "But I think that I can try to get him to change his mind." 

"I hope so," Zelda replied, "The payment that he requested today was one that was very expensive and if this keeps up then he will bankrupt this kingdom in no time."

Link froze where he stood. _Payment that he requested today_, Link thought, _that is not possible_. Link tried his best to calm his beating heart as the princess went on.

"Another thing that has been reported is that there seems to be a slight rise in the amount of activity coming from the direction of the Gerudos so if I were you I would bring along something else for protection like your bow and arrows in case they would show up and you would need to fight them from a distance," Zelda told Link, "Well I shall not keep you for any longer than what I have to so you may leave now."

Link bowed again and exited the throne room and eventually Hyrule with his heart still beating rapidly. He got onto Epona and decided to head back to the forest. When he got there he dismounted Epona and quickly ran to the house and grabbed the bow and quiver from the chest and strapped them on and left. He went to the place where he had placed the body and the crates from the cart that Ingo was carrying with him. He used the power of the Golden Gauntlets and lifted the rock up to reveal the hole. Link looked inside and saw amidst the darkness the crates that were on the cart but was unable to see a body. _Where is the body_, Link thought. Then his attention went immediately to Malon. He got up onto Epona and rode off in the direction of the ranch. By the time that he had gotten there some clouds had started to form darkening Hyrule Field. When he got there he dismounted and ran up the hill that led to the ranch. When he got there he saw Malon coming out of the barn.

"Hey Malon," Link called after her.

She turned and when she saw Link there she smiled slightly and stopped.

"Hey Link," she replied, "What do you want?"

"I was wondering," began a little nervously.

_This cant be happening Ingo is dead I killed him with my bare hands,_ Link thought.

"Link," Malon started.

"Oh yeah," Link snapped to attention, "Sorry, I haven't been sleeping well lately. I was wondering if you could tell me where Ingo is."

At the mentioning of Ingo's named Malon's shoulders slumped and her eyes went to the ground clearly not happy having to talk about Ingo.

"He left not too long ago to make a shipment," Malon answered, "I do not know when he will be back though if you wanted to talk to him."

Link could feel his eyes growing wide.

"That is not possible," Link muttered under his breath.

"What," Malon asked.

"That is not possible," Link repeated louder.

Malon took a step backward in surprise at why Link would react in this way.

"Why do you say that," Malon questioned.

"Because," Link started, "I killed him."

Malon's eyes went wide open with surprise.

"I lured him out into Hyrule Field and beat him with the hammer that I have with me right now," Link stated in a frenzy pulling out the Megnaton Hammer.

"Link I am sure that is not true," Malon insisted.

"It is," Link replied, "The impact that I felt with these hands as the hammer made contact with his head, arms, legs and torso is something that I could have never imagined."

"Link," Malon started, "I think you just need help as a result of your lack of sleep that you had mentioned earlier, I'll go get someone."

"_She is going to tell the princess what you did_," the voice had returned.

"What," Link replied.

"_She is going to tell the princess about Ingo and then you will find yourself in the hands of the executioner,_" the voice told him, "_You have no choice but to kill her_."

Link watched as Malon turned and headed towards the entrance of the Lon Lon Ranch. Link knew he couldn't let her tell anybody about what he had done to Ingo and he ran after her and tackled her.

"Link what are you doing," Malon yelled terrified.

"I killed your oppressor," Link began, "I can't let you tell anybody now that you know."

"Let me go," Malon screamed trying to free herself from Link's firm grip.

"You should be grateful," Link yelled as he pulled her to her feet and threw her away from the entrance to the ranch.

She let out a squeal of pain as she hit the ground hard and Link began to walk in her direction. Link gripped the Megnaton Hammer as he neared Malon.

"I can't let you go," Link stated almost in a trance.

He stopped in front of Malon with the hammer in one hand. The closer he got the more Malon moved away and finally she got up and started to run from Link. Link then grasped the Megnaton Hammer with both hands and raised it above his head. Then with all the strength he could muster he threw the hammer at Malon. She stopped as the pointed end of the hammer pierced the back of her head. She fell down dead before she hit the ground. Link walked over and when he got to her body he put one foot on her neck as he grabbed the hilt of the giant hammer. He tried to pull it out but it seemed like the hammer was lodged in her head good so he put more force and with one final yank he pulled the hammer out snapping Malon's neck like a twig. He dragged Malon's body into the building where they kept the cows and laid her in a bed of straw and covered her in it. He then took several of the lanterns that were hanging from the ceiling and started to cover the floor with the kerosene that fueled the lanterns. After he was finished he headed towards the door and pulled out his bow and drew and arrow. Concentrating he used the magic that he knew and the tip of the arrow lit up in flame. He released it and quickly ran outside and then proceeded to cover the house across from the barn in kerosene and lit it up in the same way the he lit up the barn. He then ran towards the entrance. Once he had left the ranch he found a tree in Hyrule Field a safe distance and stopped by it to look back. He could see the black smoke billowing up towards the sky. He could feel something coming up from inside him. At that moment he did not know why but Link threw back his head and began to laugh hysterically as the Lon Lon Ranch burned to the ground with the body of Malon inside.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Link left the area quickly and headed back towards the forest. By the time that he had gotten back it was already dark and Link was very tired. He headed for his home and climbed up the ladder and into his home. When he entered his home he lit some candles so that he could see and he went over to the trunk where he kept his things. He took off the hammer and bow and quiver and went over to his bed. He lay down on his bed and grabbed the candle and blew it out. He started to drift off to sleep and eventually succeeded when in the middle of the night he found himself awake.

"_Link_," the voice had returned and it was now calling out to him.

Link froze in his bed and his eyes grew wide. He could feel a cold sweat break out on his forehead. He started to shiver as a cold shudder went through his spine.

"Who are you," Link asked not turning to look.

"_You desecrated my shrine at Hinamizawa_," the voice continued.

"Oyashiro," Link stated in confusion.

"_That is right_," the voice replied, "_And I am not done with you yet_."

Link turned and even though he knew what he would see he still felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at the two red eyes that were staring right back at him. He immediately looked away as the voice seem to fade but the eyes still focused themselves on Link as he lay there in his bed. Link tried to close his eyes and sleep but the effort was in vain as he found that he was unable to sleep. Link finally closed his eyes as hard as he could and waited for sleep to come when it finally did come the sleep was restless as he tossed and turned in his sleep murmuring about the things that he had done in the past couple of days.

The sun rose over the hills and shone on the forest. A shaft of light began to flow in through the window as Link awoke from a night of very little sleep. Sitting up in his bed he rubbed his eyes and gathered his equipment made himself a meal and then headed out to Hyrule Field. He got onto Epona and started to ride out to the main road that could be taken from Hyrule to get to the Lon Lon Ranch. When he got there he saw a handful of Hylian Guards on horseback riding towards the ranch. Link stopped Epona and stood still as he waited and listened for what the guards had to say.

"What is going on here," one of the other guards replied, "Because a lot of really weird things have been going on lately."

"I just don't get it," a third guard stated, "Why would someone want to burn the Lon Lon Ranch to the ground?"

"It could have been an accident," another one of the guards stated.

"Yeah but," the one who asked about the ranch started, "Then how did the other building start on fire as well, there are no lanterns in that one."

The four of them rode in a continued and uncomfortable silence. Link then took this as a good chance to ride towards them. As he drew nearer he called out to them.

"Hey over there," Link called.

The four guards looked over in Link's direction and were relieved to see him there. They turned their horses and started to ride in his direction. When they got right up along side him they stopped.

"Hero of Time," one of the guards started, "Thank goodness you're here."

"What is going on," Link asked.

"Sometime in the night the Lon Lon Ranch burned to the ground," the guard answered, "No one knows who did it."

"I see," Link replied trying to look as if he was in deep thought about who might have done it.

Link looked up and saw the worried expressions in all of the guards.

"So is that why you are here," Link asked, "To find out what happened up there."

The guards all nodded showing that Link's guess was correct.

"Well if you need my help then I will try my best to help you guys then," Link told the guards.

"Thanks," one of them replied, "Well we better get moving so we can get up there and take a look at how bad the situation is."

Link watched as they all turned around and started to ride in the direction of the ranch when one of the guards called for the rest of them to go on ahead and turned his horse around and rode in the direction of Link.

"I almost forgot Hero," the guard started, "The princess would like to meet with you as soon as possible."

Link could feel his heart pounding in his chest. _Has she figured it out_, Link wondered.

"When we return she would like to know when you plan on meeting her," the guard stated.

"Tell her," Link began, "That I can meet up with her tomorrow, I haven't been feeling too well today."

"Okay," the guard replied, "She wants you to know that she will be meeting with you in the Temple of Time instead of the castle."

Link nodded and the guard rode off towards the ranch and Link turned Epona around and started to ride off towards his home thinking about what he was going to do next. _If Zelda knows that I killed both Ingo and Malon_, Link thought, _Then I will be thrown in the torture chamber and eventually onto the executioner's block_. Link thought about these things as he rode back to his home to prepare himself for what the princess would talk to him about.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Link rode onward to his home. He stopped outside the Kokiri Forest and dismounted Epona and headed in. He entered his house and sat down on the bed putting his head in his hands. _She knows, she knows_ Link thought. He got up made himself something to eat then grabbed the Megnaton Hammer and climbed down the ladder and headed off to Hyrule Field. As Link mounted Epona the voice returned to him.

"_She knows what you did_," the voice of Oyashiro stated.

"We don't know that yet," Link answered the voice.

"_She knows and you will have to take care of her before it is too late_," the voice continued on, "_She will try to take you when you arrive at the Temple of Time_."

"No," Link replied shaking his head, "She would not do something like that."

"_She will turn on you_," Oyashiro replied.

"Shut up," Link snapped at the voice covering his ears.

Slowly Link lowered his ears and listened to everything that was around him and silence encompassed him. _What if she does know_, Link thought, _Will I be able to stop her from turning me in_. As Link thought about this he looked up to the sky which was beginning to be filled with dark rain clouds and in a short amount of time it began to rain then it started to pour. Link soon found himself standing outside the entrance into Hyrule and slowly he crossed the drawbridge. The pitter patter of the rain as it hit the cobblestone streets of Hyrule could be heard everywhere. As Link walked by the first guard the guard called out to Link.

"Hero," the guard called, "The princess is waiting for you at the temple."

Link nodded his head as he moved forward into the marketplace. Link looked around and saw that the market was crowded as always even in the downpour of rain. Suddenly a loud noise filled the sky, _BOOM_. The downpour turned into a storm as the thunder and lightning cracked. Link headed over to the Temple of Time and stood in front of the massive stone building with the stained glass windows running along the walls. He looked up at the big stone doors that had the emblem of Hyrule carved into the eagle sitting atop the Triforce. As Link slowly ascended the stone steps to the temple's entrance he could feel his heart race in his chest. Finally Link stood before the giant stone doors and put his hand on them and pushed the doors open. The let out a _CREAK_ as they moved forward and Link stepped into the Temple. Link looked around the temple that he had become so familiar with and standing in front of the stone display where he had put the three spiritual stones as a child was the princess her back to him her long blonde hair flowing down her back.

"Princess," Link broke the silence.

The princess turned around and upon seeing Link started to walk over to him. Link waited until she was over by him before he spoke again.

"I was told that you wanted to see me," Link stated.

"Yes," Zelda answered, "We are in very dire straits right now."

Link nodded his head and waited for the princess to continue.

"The destruction of the Lon Lon Ranch is something that is going to have a very bad effect on the people of Hyrule," Zelda began, "This along with the news that I receive from my father about the talks that are going on with the Gerudo which seem to be breaking down and war seems to loom ever closer on the horizon this event may cost us a war if it comes to it."

"Is there any other way in which we can get supplies here," Link asked.

"I have already sent messengers to Clock Town but if they are able to bring supplies here it will take much longer for them to get here until then we would be on their own," Zelda replied, "Link the things that have been happening over the past few days have been disturbing me greatly."

Link stood there silent not wanting to talk. He then noticed the princess looking at him in a strange way.

"Link," she started, "Why do you not have the Master Sword with you?"

"I guess I was a little sleepy when I woke up this morning and grabbed the Megnaton Hammer by mistake," Link answered a little shaky.

Link watched the princess as she shrugged her shoulders as she went on talking.

"There are some things that I have to ask you about," Zelda told Link.

Outside the thunder and the lightning cracked filling the temple with a very bright white light.

"_See_," the voice of Oyashiro started, "_She knows_."

"What is it that you want to know about," Link asked doing his best to ignore the voice.

"I need to ask you about what took place between you and Ingo up at Lon Lon Ranch," Zelda replied.

Link could feel his heart racing as the princess spoke those words.

"_See_," the voice began, "_She knows and she will have you put in the torture chamber before paying a visit to the executioner_."

"Why do you need to know," Link asked.

"It has to deal with the burning down of the Lon Lon Ranch," Zelda answered, "Since you were visiting there every day to talk to Ingo about his prices that means that you would have been the last one to see him alive."

"I see," Link replied.

"I will go get some guards so that way we can bring you up to the castle and just have a quick talk about it," Zelda stated.

Zelda started to walk to the entrance of the temple when Link heard the voice of Oyashiro return to him.

"_She is going to tell the guards to arrest you_," the voice started, "_She suspects that you did it you have to stop her now._"

Link ran after the princess and tackled her. When he did the princess let out a yelp of pain and surprise as she hit the hard cold floor of the temple.

Zelda was shocked at what was going on. Why had Link suddenly tackled her?

"I should have known," Link started, "You know that I killed them and are coming after me."

"You what," Zelda replied shocked, "I didn't suspect you."

"You're lying," Link replied as his hands wrapped around Zelda's throat.

He quickly applied more and more pressure as he choked the princess, but suddenly she tucked her legs in and kicked Link off of her. She started to run for the entrance to the temple but Link took out the Megnaton Hammer and ran after her quickly. Once he got close enough to the princess he swung the hammer like an ax and sent Zelda flying to the and away from the entrance. She hit the wall and fell to the floor and started coughing.

"You know. You know," Link repeated.

He walked over to her but when he got close to her she suddenly kicked him again and tried to make a run for it but Link quickly grabbed her by her hair and slammed her into the wall. She grabbed Link's hand and bit it. Link yelled out in pain as he struck her on the head with the Megnaton Hammer. She fell to the ground and Link swung the hammer at her legs. Zelda narrowly escaped the blow as the hammer hit the floor flinging some of the tiles up. Link swung again and again Zelda narrowly dodged clutching her side she now started to wheeze from the pain that she was feeling coming from her side. Link swung again and hit his mark cracking Zelda's ribcage. Zelda let out a yell of pain. Link then stepped on both of her arms and looked down on the princess's face. He turned the hammer around in his hands so that the pointed end of the hammer was pointing down.

"Link wait," Zelda began pleading, "Please do-"

Link swung the pointed end of the hammer straight into Zelda's eye causing blood to spurt from the wound. Link then pulled the hammer out and could see that some of Zelda's brains were on the pointed end. Link then fell to his knees with tears in his eyes as he realized what he had just done.

"_See what happens when you disgrace me_," the voice of Oyashiro rang out.

"I'm sorry," Link gasped his throat dry.

"_I am afraid that it is too late for that_," the voice stated.

Then Link noticed a tingling feeling in his throat. He began to rub his throat but that seemed to cause the tingling to get much worse. His rubbing turned to scratching which only seemed to irritate it even more and quickly he began clawing, digging his fingernails into his throat. He winced in pain as he broke the skin and he suddenly felt something in his throat. _I almost have it_, Link thought as he clawed frantically, _Just a little more and I will have it_. Link stopped suddenly when he pulled his blood soaked hands away from his throat and was shocked at what he saw. Maggots were wriggling around in his blood soaked hand and he could see them falling onto his tunic and then Link could feel the itching in his throat begin to increase rapidly. Link could no longer control himself as he frantically clawed deeper and deeper into his own throat and blood began to splatter everywhere with every shot that he took at trying to get the maggots out. Then everything started getting darker and darker and he noticed that he was getting colder and colder but he didn't care all he was focused on was clawing out the maggots. Soon he felt light headed and fell to the ground still clawing at his throat. He now heard his heart beating in his head. It was slow and it was slowing down until it eventually ceased and everything went black, and the Hero of Time lay there dead with the princess Zelda who he had also killed. Slowly like the vision of the Hero of Time during his last few moments alive the world would fall into complete darkness.

"I raised my nails in the dark and slashed the night.

Raindrops become droplets of blood and drip down the throat."-Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Season 1 Opening

**The End**


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